#it always fell over once or twice. Taking the decorations out of the Three Santas Claus It’s Fine I’m Fine Everything Is Fine 4th Grade Cre | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs | Tumgik (2025)

A very little guy Christmas (DC)

It was the most wonderful time of the year, at least if you asked a certain orangeish red haired freckled faced 10 year old in a 19 year old's body.

wally west always loved Christmas but this year was better then any other as Christmas morning also happened to land on the 4 month anniversary of him and his wonderful boyfriend Dick having moved in together.

Their modest little one story house was well stocked thanks to stocks Dick had from his adopted father Bruce Wayne that were managed by Lucas fox meaning neither boy HAD to work out side of the occasional superhero stint.

Dick had actually been thinking about getting a bigger house till wally had pointed out they didn't have a butler and he wasn't gonna just clean the palace pointing out 'just because I move at super speed doesn't mean I'm not still putting in the same effort'

That being said, Wally had taken it upon himself to put up the Christmas decorations, Dick had just come home with the box with the speedster had removed it from his hands and it look like a Christmas explosion had happened in the house, both inside and out.

"..You know, Barry warned me but I didn't believe him." Dick had teased.

"Hey! I left the tree alone for us to do together." Wally had said, a mock pout on his face, and earning a kiss on his freckled cheek from dick that almost made him melt.

"That you did Wall man, that you did."

As the pair had set up the tree, Dick couldn't help but gush mentally about how much his lover and best friend seemed to have regressed just from such a simple act. he loved the freckled dork with all of his heart and it was that love that helped him get over the semi hurt he'd experience a month before after discovering the dork's secret, something he apparently thought was so shameful that not even Barry or Iris knew about. Considering the bond between the three that said lots.

Still while he had been temped to confront wally at the time, Dick had a better plan and was waiting for Christmas morning, when his adorable little speedster would get a very special Christmas present from Santa.

"Dick! you're not gonna believe this, but somebody, and I don't know who, ran in here and stole the last of those awesome sugar cookies you made while we were getting the tree decorated! I bet it was Zoom, he's always had a sweet tooth!" Wally said, shaking Dick out of his distracted thoughts.

Dick smirked. A speedster wasn't totally unnoticeable if you knew what you were looking for and while you wouldn't be able to do much to stop them in most cases, there was a tell tale vibration in the chest that you could feel if you trained yourself to notice it. even then Wally's claims that it could of been Zoom (who dick knew for a fact was locked up in Iron heights at the moment) Wally's claims fell flat due to the scatter of crumbs on his chin and a smudge of icing on his lip.

"Really? that DASTARDLY fiend!" Dick chuckled. "He even went the extra mile to plant evidence on you!"

Wally froze and blushed, then wiped his face getting icing and crumbs on his Christmas sweater and gave a sheepish laugh.

"oh uh..well, see.." wally started, rubbing the back of his head with the other arm.

"Relax, I'll make more after this, but your helping this time. note that means helping me make the dough and cook it, not stealing half of the cookie dough one tea spoon at a time." Dick chuckled.

"I can handle that, BUT!" and wally held up a finger. "Only if I get to lick the beaters."

"Deal dork."

With the presents under the tree, Wally had to keep fighting the urge Christmas eve not to just unwrap them and re wrap them at super speed to see what he got. For one, he knew it would spoil any surprises Dick had planned for him and well for anther.. he was Nightwing and had been trained by the freaking batman. there was no way Dick wouldn't of found out somehow.

Believe it or not, living with the world second (or was that third?) greatest detective could be a pain, no matter how great his butt looked.

'Though it IS a very, very sexy butt.' Wally thought, watching as Dick bent down to add a last second extra three presents.

"heh, really going all out and spoiling me this year even after I made you wear that ugly sweater huh?" Wally giggled, sitting on the couch and sipping at some eggnog.

It's a wonderful life was playing on TV though never of them were really paying attention to it, it was just a Christmas tradition that Dick had with Bruce and wally had been fine with carrying it on over to their house.

"Oh, these aren't from me. Superman was doing a favor for Santa and dropped these off early, he knows what a good boy you've been." Dick said and smirked.

Wally giggled, he of course knew there was no such thing as Santa (though given what kind of world he lived in, he'd maybe had spent A LOT of time in the north pole when he first got his powers looking for Santa's workshop) He loved how small dick was treating him and wised that he could of confessed his hidden side to Dick.

But with all the weirdo's that dick had dealt with in Gotham, the last thing he wanted was for Dick to find out that sometimes wally liked to act even younger then he had been since December 1st.

"heh, you think superman helps out at Santa's workshop?" Wally asked, winking, and keeping the little game going.

"well maybe once or twice, Likely doesn't do it too much or he'd put the elf's out of work you know." Dick fired back.

Wally snorted, he'd gone for anther drink of eggnog and now some flew out of his nose and onto the front of his own ugly sweater.

"Ha! Picture a picket line around the fortress! 'Workshop jobs for workshop elf's!' and all that!"

"heh, Or maybe he just doesn't care for the work uniform, having to wear the fake ears and all." dick said, coming over as wally was caught up in a fit of giggles mentally picturing it.

Dick smirked as the movie wasn't even halfway over and wally was already falling asleep, he'd caught him going out on a dozen pointless patrols though out the day but Barry had warned him wally tried to tire himself out on Christmas eve under the whole 'the sooner I go to bed, the sooner it's CHRISTMAS!' mindset.

Despite having no powers of his own Dick was pound for pound the stronger of the two (at least when wally wasn't using his speed to add force to his attacks) and Dick scooped the cutie up in his arms, wall's chest to his own and the sleeping redhead's face resting on his shoulder and getting it damp with drool.

arm under his silly little lover's butt and thigh's Dick carried him to their bedroom, gently setting wally on the king sized bed and then slowly getting him undressed, trying not to wake the little guy up.

Getting wally out of his sweater and pants and socks was the easy part, and Dick had originally planned and tucking wally into bed in just his Flash brief's.

The he got a look at the stained on them and rolled his eyes, the boy just didn't like to wipe right!

'Oh well, let's me get to see that cute freckled ass.' Dick mentally chuckled and slowly, carefully, a bit at a time got the undies off of the fastest dork alive.

picking out a pair of loose boxers (with a lighting bolt them going on) Dick tugged them up most of the way, getting Wally's cute little pee pee (though Dick knew it was a grower not a shower) covered up the rolled him gently over onto his side, and drooled little as he looked at dat ass.

the white almost pale skin (Since Wally didn't have the patience for tanning) made the brown freckles all over the boys bubble butt stick out and if it wasn't for the fact he'd of woken wally up, he'd of leaned down and blew a raspberry on one of those cheeks.

'Sigh, the things I do for the greater good.' Dick thought and tugged up the boxers instead and got the wall man tugged under the blankets.

Looking at the clock it was only 8 pm, and Dick wasn't used to going to sleep this early due to his years of patrolling the streets at night.

'..oh what the heck.' He thought, and after going and turning off all the lights in the house and making sure the doors were locked, made his way back to their bedroom and stripping down to his own undies, crawled under the blankets.

it wasn't even five seconds later before wally was snuggling into his chest and cooing 'daddy'

'...I could get used to this." Dick thought with a grin.

Wally yawned as he woke up, a grin coming over his face. He was alone in the bedroom though that wasn't anything new considering, same with Dick carrying him to bed when he conked out.

the only mild surprise was that he hadn't been woken up by a raspberry on his cheeks, he knew how much Dick loved his tushie.

Getting out of bed he slipped on a cream white sleeping robe, not bothering with a top or pants and his only detour as he made his way to the living room/kitchen because of it's open concept was to tap a kidney so to speak.

Dick had made coffee and was reading a new's parent, the tree lights on and a fire going in the fire place and he looked up to see Wally and smirked.

"About time sleepy head! I thought you were gonna sleep the whole day away." Dick teased lightly.

"he, It's only 6:30 in the morning Dick."

"Like I said.."

Blowing a raspberry at Dick wally eyed the presents under the tree and was about to make his move when Dick cleared his throat.

"I was thinking, I know normally Barry and iris let you open all your presents first..But I wanna open MINE all up first. trust me, it'll be worth the wait." Dick said, setting the paper down and coming over leaving his mug behind as well.

wally whined like a little boy and then bit his lip, He WAS semi used to ruling Christmas morning and it couldn't hurt to let Dick this, if he had to. he guessed.

"ooook. just don't take forever. I've seen you with wrapping paper, you try and save it!" wally said, unable to keep the BRAT out of his tone.

"I swear, I'll go fast..not as fast as you but.." Dick chuckled and took a seat.

In what took what seemed like hours to wally (though it was only 15 minutes at most) dick had unwrapped his presents, Having gotten marital arts gear, tech and books from members of the bat family (and some cook books from Alfred) It was his present from wally though that had Dick squealing with delight, as it was a old stuff toy robin Dick had tossed out when they first moved in together since it hadn't handled the move and had basically come apart.

Wally had found it, rescued it and after a few (ok a lot) hit and misses had managed to get it cleaned, stuffed and restitched back together.

"I know it's not as fancy as the other presents bu-" Wally was said, rubbing the back of his head but was cut off as Dick Hugging him hard and kissed both his cheeks over and over.

"Thank you! I love it!" Dick gushed. "This makes me SO glad I went all out for your gifts!"

"heh, ooooh? and speaking of~" wally said, grinning like a fool and blushing at just how much Dick treasured his cheap fixed up stuffed toy over the insane amount of cash that had been spent on his other gifts.

"Yes! Though hand on, I wanna give you your gifts in the right order!" Dick said and semi rushed and pushed wally onto a seated position on the floor.

"heh, jeez, remind me that plushies are the way to your heart." Wally giggled, but took a seat cross legged and holding out his arms, his hands all in 'gimme!' mode.

The first present was from Wally's parents, a set pot's and pans even though they already had some, they tended to try and be practical.

The second was from his ex Artemis, who he was still friends with since the break up had been on both of them and she was dating Red arrow these days. It was a book on the zen of archarcy, though wally wasn't much into shooting.

The third and forth were from Tim and Barbra, Robin and batgirl and were some lower tech versions of the gifts Dick had gotten and the firth was large book with lots of fairy tales in it with vivid drawing to go along with the text.

"heh, Guess Alfred doesn't know I'm not much of a reader." Wally said, blushing at that gift and how childish it was.

"oh you'd be surprised what Al knows." Dick said in a amused voice.

Wally went to ask what that meant but was shushed as the first present from Santa was handed to him, and Dick stood by, with a HUGE grin on his face as wally took the bulky thing and torn at the tape, only to freeze and blush red all over and look back up at Dick.

"Merry Christmas little guy." Dick said as wally looked back down at the pack of little waddlers, the diapers for big babies in his lap.

"I.. but ..you.. " wally whined, trying to find the words to ask just HOW Dick had known Wally was a closeted adult baby!

"Before you ask, Just remember, I'm a world class dective, I found out last month and you have NO idea how hard it's been to keep it to myself till now. well mostly to myself." Dick chuckled.

"...Mostly?" Wally asked, gulping and looking back under the tree.

there was still two more presents from Santa, a present or two from dick, -groan- a present from batman and..

"Tell me you didn't tell Barry and Iris!?" wally whined and pouted.

"I would but that would set a bad example for my baby boy. you shouldn't fib." Dick laughed.

Dick felt a little bit bad as wally whined and whimpered, clearly he hadn't of wanted Barry and Iris to know but they were coming over for dinner later (with Dick and wally going to Wayne manor for dinner on boxing day) and he wanted him free to be a little guy all day.

"can i at least get one of my diapies on before we open the rest?" Wally whined, hugging the pack close to his chest and making Dick smirk.

"Open up your present from Santa then we'll get my widdle man in his diapies." Dick said, Kissing the redhead's cheek and breaking the pout from his face, though damn if wally didn't try and keep pouting, it just kept turning into a grin.

'Santa's' other two presents it turned out were a six pack of wipes and baby powder for the babies bottom, making it clear to Wally that Dick was more then willing to change him.(and BOY did Dick watching that realization click and the the MASSIVE blush that brought!) and then a second pack of diapers.

"Don't worry, we'll get more as you need them, we can even clear out your underwear drawer if we have to." Dick said cheerfully and got a reply that was music to his ears.

"DADDY!"

"awww, it's ok. I know you'll wanna make me all sorts of presents. Now, ready to get your diapies on?" Dick asked, coming closer and gently pushing Wally onto his back.

"Y-yeah but right here?" wally asked, eyes darting to the window, even though the curtains were drawn shut.

"hey, you wanna be a big baby, you have to go with it..when does a BABY get to chose where he gets his huggies changed?" Dick asked teasingly.

"I hate you so much right now!" Wally huffed and laid back, crossing his arms.

"No you don't." Dick said.

"..No I don't." wally agreed.

it was surreal, having his loving boyfriend being so ok with this and slipping into a daddy role with such ease.. It also had wally mentally cursing himself for not having spoken up sooner since he could of been rocking out in diapers ALL this time!

he closed his eyes not in shame but in bliss and his arms uncrossed as a thumb found it's way into his mouth as Dick pulled his undies off then opened the package.

"How many diapers do you want on little man? you can keep sucking your thumb and show me with your finger unless it's gonna take more then five." Dick teased gently.

wally squirmed LOTS at that, he had toyed and experimented with layering of course, what big baby hadn't? but those were cheap store brand diapers and he wanted to make these last.

Thinking about it for a second, wally held up three fingers.

"ok, can do.. Hmm.. Should of gotten your robe off first." Dick said.

Wanting to speed this along and get his butt back in diapers wally took matters into his own hands, thumb out of mouth and eyes open as he quickly shed the robe and tossed it down the hall like it was on fire and then was back on the floor, shivering a little from the cold, and a whole lot from excitement.

"heh, well that takes care of THAT I suppose." Dick laughed and tickled Wally's tummy as the speedster went back to slobbering on his thumb, but kept his eyes open this time.

Dick made a show of it, Unfolding each of the bulky baby print diapers and teasing wally almost with them and making the little reach out with his free hand, all I want.

he was almost making Wally's little guy stick up to a full 6 inches.

"Well, if I had ANY doubt you didn't want this before." Dick chuckled then added "Butt up wall man."

Wally listened to daddy and lifted his hips, all three diaper had been layered on top of each other and it felt like he was resting his butt on a pillow as his tushie came back down, his stiffly twitching wildly and Wally blushed, he was gonna cream hands free any second now.

"Guess I better stop teasing and hurry up before you shoot and coat yourself and have to go for a bath." Dick chuckled, quickly sprinkling LOTS of baby powder on Wally's privates and BARLEY getting the inner most diaper taped up before wally started to jerk his hips up and down, crying out around his thumb as load after load of 'baby milk' shot out into the diaper, Dick watching the show and though his orgasmic haze Wally could see Dick was getting excited as well.

Dick had to admit, while he'd of never thought of being a daddy dom before, he was finding it super fun and hot as fuck. watching wally cream that hard just from his huggies had Dick wanting to replace that thumb with a certain put of himself in Wally's mouth, but this was all about the baby and there would be time for that later.

Waiting for the hip's to stop jerking Dick moved a hand down and even though the thickness of the diaper could feel how hard his boyfriend turned baby boy was spurting and leaned down, smooching the big babies cheek and setting off anther wave of orgasmic bliss for the little guy.

Once wally was done, Dick smiled and rubbed Wally's tummy.

"have fun?" Dick asked and wally nodded. "Do you still wanna go on with the rest of the diapers or do you need a bit of big boy time after you cream?"

He wasn't being mean, he'd be happy to keep babying little wally but also didn't wanna force this on him anymore then he already had with the telling Barry and iris and Bruce.

wally pulled his thumb out, and there was a line of drool with it that Dick somehow found just even cuter and he gushed in a babyish voice.

"me wanna wear diapies ALL day dada." Wally coo'ed.

Dick's cock almost shot then and there and he was positive it was only his training in self control under Bruce and other martial art master that kept him from shooting though his undies and coating wally.

'maybe I'm gonna need a diaper too at this rate.' dick mused to himself then out loud. "Ok little guy!"

triple diapered and feeling all so small in the most wonderful way, Wally had turned into a little cuddle bug and kept nuzzling into Dick whenever he wasn't opening a present or waiting for Dick to get him one.

His present from Barry and iris was a large teddy bear, with a kid flash outfit on and by larger it was almost as big as his upper body and he gave it LOTS of hugs and named it Teddy flash right then and there.

His present from Bruce was confusing, as it was a book about how to stop bed wetting and he held it up for Dick to see with a eyebrow raised.

"Yeahhh..Bruce didn't really get what I was trying to tell him and just settled on thinking you were a bed wetter so I ran with it." Dick explained sheepishly.

"heh, Ok. Guess that means no wearing to grandpa's house huh?" Wally giggled.

"Ha! yeah, don't think that'll work out..though Alfred semi knows hence the fairy tales and well, Tim's got a lot of quirks like you so think he'd just get jealous." Dick chuckled.

Wally giggled LOTS at that and then it was time for his gifts from Dick, which included two type of paci's (one with a naughty nipple and one with a normal) A set of Lego blocks but the big ones meant for babies, a rattle, a few more stuffies (A anther bear, a owl, a rabbit) and a diaper shirt that was main yellow with the flash logo on the front and on the back went 'Faster pooper alive!' in red lightning text.

He also got a teddy bear themed shirt and shorts outfit, a couple of toddler show DVDS and of course his FAVORITE onesie, the one he insisted on right away, was a red one with green trim and a picture of mistletoe on the small of the back, just above the butt and text about it saying "Kiss under the mistletoe"

Getting the onesie on the little guy wasn't easy, Dick would have to see if Iris could let it out some or something or just cut back on the diapers when Wally wanted to read it.

But as the protege of the god damn batman wasn't one to give up quick and with a lot of effort and grunting he got the crotch snaps done up, though he had to make use of some spirit gun like he used to keep his mask on to do it.

unsurprisingly Wally wasted little time as soon as it was on, rolling over and getting on his hands and knees and offering his massive padded rear up and looking over his shoulder.

"Welllll Daddy? Aren't you gonna kiss me 'under the mistletoe'?" he asked, breaking into a fit of giggled.

"I suppose I better do it now before you go uh-oh." Dick countered and too lots of hoots and giggles, Leaned in and planted a big old smooch on Wally's diapered butt.

"Hehehehehe I might be a BIG baby..But your a BUTT kisser!" Wally giggled like mad.

Seeing how excited wally was Dick made a mental note NOT to let him have sugar while he was in little mode.

"Soooo what do we do noooooow?" Wally asked, plopping back on his butt, leg's spread.

"well I'm gonna go make use breakfast while YOU have a very, very important mission." Dick said, grabbing the first DVD he came across and noting the title then opening it.

"Ohhh?" Wally asked, tilting his head and getting the normal paci clipped to his onesie.

"Yup! You need to start watched Paw patrol so you can explain it all to daddy when he goes to watch it with you later. think you can handle that?" Dick asked.

Wally smirked and then put on a fake look of concern.

"it'll be tough.. but I MIGHT be able to handle it if I have my super science blocks to put together while I study the Intel sir!" Wally giggled.

"heh.. well of course!" Dick said, going and getting the dvd in the machine and turning on the tv, and hearing a weird scuffing noise turned around and grinned ear you ear.

Wall had the container of blocks in one arm, and was rocking his hips and using the other arm to guide him as he scooted across the floor on his butt!

'Just how did it take me finding diapers not to see what a little guy he is, and just how the hell does he manage to adult at all?' Dick wondered.

With the blocks dumped out (after Dick got them opened since there was plastic to cut and Wally was too little to have a knife of course) Wally set to work while sucking on his paci to make a semi mock computer, while Dick cued up the menu and had episode 1 ready to go, he was just waiting on 'agent baby' to give the thumbs up he was ready.

give the thumbs up wally could feel a familiar pressure building up rapidly in his bowels and thought about letting Dick know he had to go poopie, and ask to use the potty, he'd never actually crapped himself before.

'nggggh.. nah. he said I hafa think like a baby and babies dun get to pick when and what they use their diapers for.' Wally thought and leaned forward as Dick passed him by, deciding to give his boyfriend a slight warning of what was coming by giving out a poot.

Instead, the 3 days of backed up poopie in his tummy (his eating habit's sometimes could back him up for days as food struggled to get though) took the opening and a soft 'eek!' escaped from his lips and a massive amount of poopie forced it's way out into his diapers, bulking them out even more but because of the spirit gum the onesie couldn't just pop open which meant once the back of the diaper was full, it only had one place to go.. the front.

Hands on the floor and on his knee's wally suckled hard on his paci as his poopies coated the front of his diapies, making him make tinkles and milk again and as the massive load came to a stop three or four minutes later, he opened his eyes and saw Dick smiling, having watched the whole thing.

"So glad you made room for din din. I'll change you after we eat." he said and then gently and firmly pushed wally onto his squishy and smelly seat and made the big baby make anther load of baby milk.

Unsurprisingly, he wasn't able to tell daddy much about paw patrol.

The end

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So, @nagisushi, i got you for the secret santa! hope you like this!

♡♡♡♡♡

It was December 22nd, three days away from Christmas. Karma had invited him and Sugino over to his house after realizing in horror that Sugino had never watched a Sonic Ninja movie in his entire life. The three of them were going to binge watch the movies and then sleepover since they probably wouldn’t be able to finish catching Sugino up to speed in just one day.

With Christmas coming up, his mother’s job had become just about busy enough that she’d rather have him go away until she had less on her plate. Honestly, Nagisa was glad she wanted him away for a while. He didn’t want to have to walk on eggshells around her either.

And so, here he was. In front of Karma’s house, Sugino beside him, and a backpack with his toothbrush, pajamas, and a spare change of clothes.

"Watch your step," Karma warned, stepping aside so they could come in. "Don't step on the tripwire," he pointed out a thin piece of string rigged over the floor at ankle-height.

"Why do you have a tripwire at your front door?" Sugino looked at him in disbelief. "Actually, why do you have a tripwire at- y'know what? I'll ask you that some other time,"

"Never know when someone's gonna break in. Come on, let's go watch Sonic Ninja,"

Nagisa laughed nervously, and followed Karma to another room, ducking under a rubber spider hanging from the doorway by a thin string.

Once they got into the room, Karma promptly launched himself onto a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor in front of a TV.

Nagisa and Sugino sat down next to him. It was comfy, though small enough that the three of them had to squish together a little.

Karma took a remote out from one of the pillowcases, and started playing the movies.

Nagisa had watched them before, but it was still interesting to see the characters react and change as the story progressed. Besides that, he always noticed a little detail he'd dismissed before that made the plot twists seem so obvious. Sonic Ninja really did have good replay value, even if it had a few somewhat cliche twists, they made sense in the plot after rewatching it.

Something else that made this time exciting was that it was Sugino’s first time watching Sonic Ninja ever.

Seeing him quickly take a liking to certain characters, disliking others, dismissing some details while looking too far into others, it was refreshing to see Sugino react from the series.

Sugino also had a habit of grabbing onto his arm during the jump scares. It was a little surprising at first, but after a while, Nagisa ended up holding hands with him during the tenser moments. Sugino’s hand was strangely warm, but it felt nice since it was a little cold.

As for Karma, he had a bit of an annoying habit of keeping a running commentary during movies. It was just something that happened while watching them, though it certainly led to having a peek into his thought process if he was focused hard on the scene enough to say things without a filter. For some reason, he didn’t do it as often this time. Every few minutes, he’d open his mouth, start to say something, and then close it again.

Plus, despite how mischievous he usually was, he wasn’t a bad host. He’d been awkward when he, Sugino, Kayano, Okuda, and Kanzaki had shown up without warning when Karma got sick, but give him a clear idea of what would happen and he would be fairly prepared for the day. Karma kept them well-supplied on snacks and drinks, passing around bottles of soda, boba drinks, along with popcorn.

At some point, Nagisa ended up with Karma’s arm slung over his shoulder, with both him and Sugino leaning gently on Nagisa. It was warm and comfortable, and felt strangely safe.

And somehow, between the familiar storyline, Sugino’s hand in his, Karma’s arm over his shoulder, and being tired in general, he fell asleep. He was vaguely aware of movement, whispers, and what might’ve been the sound of a photo being taken, but he managed to sleep through it.

When he woke up, it seemed that some time had passed already. The TV was off, for one thing, and when he checked his phone, it was already 6.30 pm.

“Hey,” Sugino said, with damp hair and soft-looking dark blue pyjamas. “You fell asleep earlier, do you wanna go take a shower?”

Rubbing his eyes, Nagisa stood up. Sugino took Nagisa’s bag. “I’ll help you take this to the bathroom, apparently there's a trap on the door handle. Karma’s off picking up some food. We already ordered for you earlier, since we didn’t want to wake you up,”

"Oh, thanks," Nagisa said. He wasn't sure why Karma would have a trap in his bathroom, but it was nice of Sugino to take him.

While he was drying his hair, Nagisa heard Sugino talking to Karma, who had probably gotten back while he was showering.

"Hey, do you have the stuff?" Sugino asked.

"Yes, I have the drugs,"

"Karma, you know what I mean,"

"Yeah, of course I have the stuff, don't forget what we have in common,"

Curious and nervous about the potential chaos that could happen based off of that exchange, Nagisa opened the door.

Karma had probably taken a shower while he was asleep, since he was wearing a black hoodie and a different pair of pants.

He also had two plastic bags in his hands, both with a very familiar brand on them.

"Nagisa!" Sugino said, surprised. "We, uh, got you sushi," he rubbed the back of his neck. "We weren't completely sure which one was your favorite, so we just ordered a ton since it's on Karma. I'll take whatever you don't like,"

For just a moment, Nagisa just stared at them.

He broke out into a grin. "Thanks, both of you,"

Both Sugino and Karma's ears went strangely red, and the two of them smiled as well.

"Yeah, we really are great," Karma joked. "C'mon, let's go eat. You mentioned the place we got the sushi from once or twice and it really does look good,"

The sushi really did taste good as well. Karma and Sugino had ordered a few different kinds, somehow managing to have chosen most of his favorites. But then again, his favorite did consist of almost all of the different kinds.

Over dinner, the three of them talked about Sonic Ninja. They were only about halfway through the series, according to Karma.

Sugino was trying to predict what was going to happen, and how issues would be resolved based off of the story he'd seen so far. While his theories were pretty off on what actually happened, Nagisa had to admit they would've made good storylines, and that they made sense as well.

Karma on the other hand just seemed to be enjoying trying to confuse and trick Sugino on what was actually going to happen. He was half encouraging Sugino's theory, while also pointing out how it could be wrong.

The rest of the night passed by in a happy blur. Eating, watching, talking, and eventually, Karma and Sugino drifted off to sleep. Sugino was hugging his left arm, and Karma had somehow managed to lay his head across both his and Sugino's laps.

Nagisa noticed a slip of paper with writing on it sticking out of Karma's hoodie pocket. Curious, he cautiously slid it out, and started reading

He covered his mouth, suppressing a laugh.

It was a to-do list. It had the words "operation: Nagisa has a Good December 23-24" written in Karma's fanciest cursive, with little doodles of him that Sugino must've drawn around it.

Nagisa noted how cute he looked in Sugino's doodles.

Under that, there was a list of things the two of them must've been planning for the day and the next. It included giving him presents (descriptions on where they were hidden were next to that step), a hoodie (Sugino and Karma had written each of their names, crossed the other's out, and ended up just writing "whoever gets the chance first"), buying him sushi, and talking to him about Sonic Ninja.

And at the very bottom of the paper, in Sugino's big, blocky handwriting, underlined twice, was "DO NOT TELL HIM!!! DON'T RUIN PRE-CHRISTMAS!!". Nagisa felt guilty for reading, though he wasn't completely sure why it was so important to keep it a secret. The amount of effort they had put into it made the whole thing a lot more touching, in his opinion.

Sugino's head fell on Nagisa's shoulder, breathing softly and steadily.

They've put so much effort into all of this, Nagisa thought, absentmindedly leaning his head on top of Sugino's. After all that, the least I can do is let them think I don't know how much planning they did for me.

Nagisa slipped the paper back into Karma's pocket. Karma's hand curled around his subconsciously.

Surrounded by two of his best friends, Nagisa smiled, and felt himself drift off to sleep as well.

Thank you, both of you.

Bonus headcanons since this is a mess:

Karma and Sugino both have a crush on Nagisa

they found out about their own crush from Okuda and Maehara respectively

Nakamura found out and added them into the“Nagisa Simps” group chat

the group chat plans little events or things to make Nagisa happy

they also lowkey tease each other of their crushes, take turns being jealous occasionally, yet sometimes wingman each other

the goal is Nagisa’s happiness, not their own relationships

the "DO NOT TELL HIM!!! DON'T RUIN PRE-CHRISTMAS!!" part of the note was about confessing their crushes. they didn’t want Nagisa to have any bad memories tied to before Christmas because of them

Karma’s handwriting is either insanely fancy cursive, or complete chicken scratch

Sugino doodled Nagisa smiling on the plan as decoration

43 notes · View notes

Valentines Day with Stray Kids♡

♡⋆⁎ Person of Interest: OT8 Stray Kids

♡⋆⁎ Genre: Tons of Fluff, Literally 0 Angst, School AU

♡⋆⁎ Requested? Y/N

♡⋆⁎ Word Count: 2207

♡⋆⁎ Additional Info: Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you’re spending it with the person/people you love, whether it’s romantic or platonic! I have a couple of notes about this reaction.

This took 3 days to write and is my longest piece of writing!

Chan and Hyunjin’s are based off of personal experiences, of course without the confession part. (I’m giving all of my friends candy this year and my school is selling wooden roses and I WOULD buy one for myself but dang the line is way too long and I need FOOD, they’re sold at lunch)

The reactions alternate from the member confessing to you confessing, so be aware of that!

Enjoy reading, and have an awesome Valentine’s Day! Please know if you're alone this year, you can still spend this holiday with your friends and family. Spread the love today!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

c h a n♡

Chan was always aware about the observant side of you; the side that over analyzes everything to see if there’s a hidden message. That’s why, to confess to you on Valentines Day, he wanted to put your skills to the test.

Fundip: the gift Chan would be giving out to the majority of his classmates, of course, including you. Each one of them was personalized to the person getting the small pack of sugar, which helped Chan with his plan. His plan? Every single pack would have a smiley face on it, except yours, which would instead have a heart on it.

Soon after passing the candy out before class, his friend, who knew of his scheme, Changbin, nudged Chan on the shoulder.

“I think it worked, dude. She’s asking people around her something,” Changbin subtly says to Chan, who’s palms were getting sweatier by the second. You eyed Chan suspiciously, who made eye contact back. Grabbing your blue raspberry flavored pack, you raised it in the air with your two fingers and pointed at it dramatically, eyebrows raising up in exaggeration. Chan laughed silently in response, waving you off as to say, “Talk to you later after class.”

Right after class, you immediately caught Chan by the doorway, waiting for you. Before he opened his mouth to explain, obvious blush on his face, you spoke first.

“Nice candy. And yes, I’ll be your valentine.”

m i n h o♡

Listen: it wasn’t your fault you fell in love with Minho, the “bad boy” in your class this year. I mean, his leather jacket, flirty attitude, countless pranks in class, intimidating tone...

Is that a cat airpod case?

Regardless, by now you’ve fallen head over heels with your classmate, who you’ve only spoken to once or twice due to your timid nature. But this year on Valentines Day, you aren’t missing your chance to make a move.

And you immediately started regretting making that card last night. You saw a small pile of gifts Minho got, but even though it was clear he rejected all those girls, you couldn’t help but tremble.

Deciding you couldn’t present your gift directly to him, you set the lousy folded piece of paper you ever so delicately drew inside of it on his desk, set off to the side of the other failed presents.

As soon as the bell ring, signaling the end of class, you attempted to rush out of the room, only to be stopped by Minho.

“Hey Y/N!” He called out, which you mistakenly turned around in response. You were only a few feet from the door when he started approaching you, your feet taking to the back of the wall.

“Do you make this?”

You nodded, trembling at his response. This was it, you were going to get rejected, feeling like a loser holding your textbooks tightly around your chest.

Then, Minho lit up into a bright smile.

“I love it! Those cats you drew were awesome, they even kinda resemble my own lil’ kittens! And yes, I’ll be your valentine.”

c h a n g b i n♡

For once, you and Changbin agreed on the same thing: that your friend group made a stupid event. I mean, secret santa, valentines edition? Then again, they’re your friends, might as well play along and draw a name from the hat.

“Changbin.”

Well, at least both of you announced to the group that your gift would be very minimalistic. Then again, you had a tiny crush on him..

Might as well put a little effort into it.

Valentines Day arrives swiftly, everyone having their gifts ready in white, paper bags.

“Okay, I guess everyone can start passing out gifts!” Someone finally announces and soon, everyone was turning left and right passing out their gift.

You notice Changbin standing there silently, clutching his bag quite tightly. You approach him from the side, extending your arm holding the bag. Changbin raises his eyebrows in surprise, looking up at you before taking the bag and gently opening it.

“Snorlax?! Ah, you should see my gift for you..” He pulls out a small Snorlax pushie out of your bag as you giggle at his shock. It was your turn to be shocked however, as he gave you his bag. Inside..

“My own Gyu? Oh, it has a pink bow on it, cute!” You smile, examining the soft plushie in your hand.

“Look at the tag..” you’re able to hear Changbin grumble out. You look up to see him scratching his ear, his cheeks a very faint red that you’re barely able to make out. You open the tag and read what’s written on it.

“Be my valentine?”

h y u n j i n♡

“Man up!” They said,

“It’ll be fun!” They said,

“Yeah right,” you mumbled quietly as you clutched a dollar in your hand, waiting behind tons of people to purchase this artificial rose.

Honestly, your school is a genius for thinking about selling fake roses and giving them out at the end of the day. With relationships blossoming everyday in your grade level, they might as well double the amount of them in a single week.

Also, they’re getting tons of profit from this event, especially with you as one of their daily customers. Always a blue rose, always with your unreadable signature at the bottom of the note. It’s not like your massive crush, Hyunjin, can read it anyways, right? And you’re happy you can see him smile everytime he gets one. All because of you.

Valentines Day, you don’t feel alone carrying a single real blue rose in your hands as you scanned your grade level. Huge teddy bears, bouquets of flowers, some may say you under did it. But you know Hyunjin’s the type to not put on a show, so you shall do the same.

“Hi Hyunjin.. Here’s your last rose!” You shyly say to the boy sitting at his desk, doodling in his journal. He looks up, definitely not expecting you to be the one purchasing the blue roses.

“You’re the one who—?” You cut him off, nodding. He starts laughing at clapping, making you giggle as well. He gets up from his seat and gives you a tight hug.

“Be..my valentine?” You managed to say, still overwhelmed by what’s happening.

“Of course!”

j i s u n g♡

Jisung was panicking. Going around the dorms left and right, asking all of his hyungs for advice (because let’s be honest, if he goes to the three maknaes of the group, he’ll become even more of a laughing stock than he already is).

“But hyung!!” Jisung waddled back and forth on Chan’s bed, arms locked around his legs.

Chan sighed once more. “Well, what does she like?”

“I already told you, I’m not sure!!”

“Then, I don’t know, get them a stuffed animal? Make them a song?” At the second suggestion, Jisung’s ears perked up.

“A song! That’s a good idea, hyung! Thanks!!” Jisung suddenly jumped out of the bed and scrambled to his room, leaving Chan wildly confused.

A week later, as the classroom was decorated with heart streams and colored paper, you sat with an empty heart for another year. Of course no one would want you as a valentine, you’re too “cold” and “quiet.” That is, until your good friend Jisung plopped into the seat in front of you.

“Listen to this,” he demanded as he placed his phone on your desk and slid it over, a song on the screen. You looked at him suspiciously, in which he smiled wider. You took the phone and held it near your ear, making sure the volume was loud enough for you to hear yet quiet enough for no one else to.

Needless to say, when the short song was finished, you were flooded with emotion as you gave the phone back to its owner.

“Yes, I’ll be your valentine.”

f e l i x♡

With both of you as the class clowns, it was incredibly easy for you to think of a way to ask Felix to be your valentine. Really, he shows you the latest memes everyday at break, how could you not make your own and turn them into valentine cards?

“Y/N..! You never give me memes back, when will you get some for me?” Felix whines to you at break time as you roll your eyes in annoyance.

“Find me three Pewdiepie memes and I’ll give you some tomorrow,” you negotiated, clearly not getting a good response from Felix.

“I swear you like THAT Felix more than me! I’m hurt, Y/N,” Felix starts to fake cry, wiping his dry face with his finger.

“Go ahead and cry, you big baby.”

“You suck!”

The bell rings, and Felix heads back to his seat.

“Okay, do I still suck if I have some memes for you?” It was the next day, and despite that Felix didn’t bring you your Pewdiepie memes, you still wanted to give him his present.

Once you turn your phone around that you discreetly pulled out of your bag, Felix immediately starts laughing.

“Donut ever leave deez nuts1!!1!1” He says out loud, you laughing along with him too.

After you calm down, you asked him. “Do you get the joke?”

“Yeah, the donut and the deez nuts— Oh— oh!” He looks up at you with wide eyes, and seeing you fall back into your chair with laughter confirms his thoughts.

“Is this your way of asking me to—?” You cut him off with a nod, still bubbling with giggles.

“I— Yeah! I would’ve asked you but I’m a coward so— Woah!”

he hits the woah afterwards

s e u n g m i n♡

Seungmin likes to think he has two personalities. There’s the “Quiet Prankster” side and the “Hopeless Romantic” side. The more Seungmin thought about it, the more he realized he probably got the second side from Day6, but that’s not the point here! He has to make his Valentine's Day gift extra special, just for you!

After using several of Minho’s post-it notes to scribble down some ideas you would like, he finally settled on two. The very original and very romantic bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates. Seungmin facepalmed at his originality, but knowing you, you would like anything, so it’s better to keep it traditional.

Right?

Wrong. Oh dear god he was absolutely wrong for once.

Because when the 14th arrived and Seungmin came to school clutching his small bouquet of sunflowers and a heart shaped box of chocolates, you stared at him wide.

“These are for me?” You asked, keeping your distance as you pointed at the gifts.

“Yeah, why? Is there something wrong?” Seungmin started to worry.

You waved him off with your frantic hands. “No, it’s fine, it’s just...”

“I’m allergic to chocolate/flowers.”

“O-Oh.” Seungmin looked down at the objects in his hand as if they were his enemy. Suddenly embarrassed, his ears grew bright red.

You laughed at his attempt, but still wanted to assure him it’s fine.

“It’s okay, Seungmin! I could give the flowers/chocolates to my friends if that’s okay with you. And I know you’re going to ask me this, so yes, I’ll be your valentine.”

j e o n g i n♡

Scanning the kitchen surroundings, you knew this plan would fail. You never realized the stereotype of “covering the whole kitchen in powder” could actually come true, because it was right in front of you.

Simple sugar cookies for the sweetest boy in the classroom, Jeongin, right? Well, not very simple if you’re being honest. How did flour get to the top of your head? You weren’t even sure at that point.

Suddenly, your older brother, Woojin, stepped into the kitchen area looking down at his phone before retracing his steps to you.

“D-Do you need help?”

You whined loudly and nodded, Woojin chuckling a little bit before leaving to get a broom and dustpan.

While you told him who you were baking the cookies for (because thank god, he’s such a good older brother that you can literally tell him anything and he wouldn’t judge), you two sweeped up the floor and threw a new batch of cookies into the oven.

“I think I got it by now. Woo, thank you so much!”

“Yup! I’ll be in my room if you need any more help.” You two salute each other off, leaving you standing right in front of the oven waiting for the batter to cook.

With some homemade icing recipe you found online, you frosted the heart shaped cookies with cute messages. Gently tossing them into a box, you slipped it into the fridge and slept anxiously for the next day.

Before class, you nervously tapped on your crush’s shoulder as he sat in his desk, fiddling with a pencil. Jeongin whipped around to see you holding out a box of homemade cookies to him.

“Hi, uh, I’ve actually liked you for a long time and wondered if you could be my valentine?”

Jeongin beamed. “Since the gift is as sweet as the person who gifted it, of course!”

29 notes · View notes

From Fallenfurther

to @lenle-g

Secret Santa doesn’t own this fic, full credit to the author mentioned above!

Deck the halls

The year Gordon decided everyone had to wear Christmas jumpers to decorate the tree, John had headed straight back up to Thunderbird 5 and refused to come down. Gordon threatened to come up and decorate Thunderbird 5 for him, which John promptly pointed out was a health hazard. The last thing John had expected to see when he woken from sleep the next day was the metres of tinsel taped all over his sleeping quarters. Walking through the gravity ring was like strolling into Santa's grotto. Tinsel, snowflakes and baubles had been hung and placed everywhere. He had to empty a pile of tiny red baubles from his mug to have coffee and pull tinsel out of every limb on his clean spacesuit before putting it on. It turned out Gordon and Alan had launched Thunderbird 3 the moment his head hit the pillow and had worked non-stop to make sure he felt festive. Scott had just laughed at first, until John discover the fake snow that had been left in the observation room. The floating mess interfered with the projections making it impossible to monitor anything. Gordon and Alan were promptly sent back up to clear the worst of the mess, though they were allowed to leave some tinsel and snowflakes attached to the walls. They had also been instructed to bring him back, which they did, despite his complaints. Once out of his uniform, he was caught be Scott and Virgil, both in their own awful Christmas jumpers, as he stepped out of his room. Using the element of surprise to full advantage, they pulled his jumper over his head before welcoming him home. Ever since he'd come down when asked and donned the scratchy wool jumper begrudgingly.

This year was no different. After telling EOS that he couldn't get out of it, despite her instance that she would stop his brothers from redecorating, John set the space elevator down on Tracy Island. As always, gravity made him a little unstable and he wobbled to his room. John stood in the shower letting the water wash everything properly. The shower on Thunderbird 5 was great, but there was a certain comfort to the one in his bathroom that couldn't be replicated. Drying off and donning his civilian clothes, John sighed. He walked over to the drawer where the jumper was kept. The wool wouldn't soften no matter how many times he'd washed it and no matter what detergent he used. John cringed when it scratched his face as he pulled it over his head. A glance in the mirror confirmed that Santa was still flying his reindeer drawn sleigh across his chest and the little metal bells attached along the reigns still jingled with his every move. Shaking his head, he headed down to the lounge to get this over and done with.

Alan and Gordon were already in the living room, opening the boxes of decorations, fighting over what was to be hung where. John headed over to the one labelled ‘lights’, knowing that they would have been dumped back in the box last year by Gordon, so would need detangling.

"Welcome back to Earth!"

"Glad you decided to join us, John."

John looked over his shoulder at his older brothers. Scott and Virgil were smiling at him as they carried the massive tree into the room.

"Like I had a choice in this, though I'm glad to see you two are handling the tree this year, after last year's disaster!"

John looked over at Gordon and Alan as his elder brothers chuckled. Last year Alan and Gordon had got the tree and having decided it was too much effort to take it up in the lift, had tried to use the clamp on Thunderbird 2 to lower the tree to the poolside. The tree ended up battered, with branches broken and a fair portion of the needles floating in the pool. The sorry looking tree was stood in the kitchen while a new one was obtained. Thankfully they had enough baubles and tinsel to decorate the island twice over, so the tree still looked festive, even with a few branches missing.

John watched as the tree was stood up to the side of the lounge. Pulling more lights from the box, John turned back to untangling before Gordon decided to decorate the tree without them. Once he'd freed a long chain of lights, John walked up to the tree where Virgil was standing ready. Virgil bent down allowing John to sit on his shoulders. John steadied himself as his brother stood. Leaning carefully forward, John reached out and started slipping the lights between the top branches of the tree. The needles were thankfully soft as they brushed against his skin. Virgil watched and slowly moved round the tree, though John swayed slightly, a little dizzy as his body was still getting accustomed to gravity. When they got halfway down, Virgil allowed John to get off, though stayed down to let Gordon, who had tinsel slung over both shoulders, clamber up and take John’s place.

John continued around the tree, the lights slowly slipping through his fingers as he placed them. Gordon was soon following close behind with the tinsel just as John got to the last layer of branches. Gordon pushed under him, the trailing tinsel caused John to stubble back, arms pinwheeling. John managed to stay on his feet and stepped forward to avoid Scott, who was passing baubles up to Alan, who was on his shoulders. John went over to the large box labelled baubles and took out a smaller box of golden ones. He swapped it for the empty box that Scott was now holding.

Gordon was grinning ear to ear, still decorated with tinsel, as he grabbed a box of shiny green baubles, before heading back to Virgil for another lift. John picked up frosty blue ones and started to put them on the lower branches, carefully keeping out the way of the others. Stepping back again to let Scott and Alan past, John stepped on a length of tinsel that Gordon had dropped. The bundle of shiny red decoration slipped against the polished floorboards sending John flying backwards. Instinct made him drop the box, which fell against his stomach as he landed on his bottom. The blue baubles bounced out the box and rolled around him. Every eye turned to John and laugher sounded out. John could feel the heat spread over his cheeks but couldn't stop himself as he joined in with the infectious laugher. Gordon was chortling so hard he was struggling to stay atop Virgil.

"You meant to hang the baubles on the tree, John, not yourself!"

His brother has fought to get the words out and Alan was sent into another sniggering fit. John looked down to see one of the shiny blue baubles had caught on one of the bells on his jumper. He shook his head, glad that the bauble had stopped the joke from being about gravity. He carefully picked the bauble off and placed it in the box, before he collected the others that were still within his reach. John headed back to the tree to hung up the offending baubles, before they could cause any more trouble.

"Be careful John. Don't go too near the tinsel or it might conspire with gravity and trip you up again!"

John rolled his eyes. He just couldn't escape his brother's bad jokes. John stepped away from the tree and towards the boxes as the alarm sounded. Instinct took over, and he ran to his father's desk. His body was not quite ready for the sudden movement and he skidded into the side of it. John ignored the dull pain in his leg as he sat down and answered the call.

"International Rescue, what's the situation?"

"Avalanche, French Alps, unknown number of trapped people."

"Stay calm. Get everyone you can to a safe location. Try and ascertain how many people are missing and if any of them had emergency avalanche equipment on them. Keep this line clear so I can keep in contact with you. Help is on the way."

John looked at his brothers, four solemn faces returned his gaze. The eldest was the first to speak.

"Unknown number of casualties. The more of us the better. I'll take 1, you four go in 2. John, get EOS to scan the area. We need deep thermal scans and look for any signals from any emergency equipment or beacons. The more information we can get the better. You'll monitor the situation from 2. Be prepared as time is of the essence in this situation."

John nodded before he turned to EOS whose hologram was now projecting into the room.

"Scans underway John. I'll send the data to Thunderbird 2's computer."

"Thanks EOS."

With that John stood, pulled the awful jumper over his head and threw it on the pile his brothers had made on the sofa. He fell into the bucket chair beside Alan. The tension in the room was palatable. Avalanches were personal and they never underestimated them. John took a deep breath as the chair lowered. He was known as the calm one, but it didn't mean he always felt it. Not being on Thunderbird 5 during a rescue threw him and he took another deep breath to bring his mind back into focus. Alan didn't mention anything, though when John looked at his brother, he recognised the tension that gripped the young man. John knew Alan had few memories of Mum, but it didn't stop the atmosphere from affecting him. The chairs separated and John hopped off when it paused and ran to the lockers. With practiced skill, he removed his clothes, squeezed into his spare suit and grabbed his helmet. He was back in the seat within minutes and it took him down, past the rail that led towards Thunderbird 3, and along towards Thunderbird 2's hanger. Alan's seat was slightly ahead, and John had to run to catch up with the other astronaut. They ran towards the waiting platform below Thunderbird 2. Gordon sprinted up just behind them and the three brothers were lifted into the green behemoth. John did a double take at the sight of the cockpit. There was tinsel everywhere. Well, it was everywhere where it wouldn’t be a hazard. Why Virgil had let Gordon do so this was beyond John's comprehension.

"You like it?"

Gordon grinned straight at John. John took the co-pilot's chair, which was wrapped in golden tinsel. Virgil had green tinsel around his seat, which explained why it might be being tolerated.

"It's festive."

John’s face displayed his displeasure and Gordon just chortled behind him. John reached up with one hand and scratched his neck where the shiny decorations were irritating his skin, while he brought up EOS's preliminary scans of the avalanche with the other. She has managed to find three emergency signals and two faint heat signatures. The priority was going to be on the people who didn't activate any emergency avalanche equipment as they were likely to have the shortest time to hypothermia. John contacted the original caller and got an update on possible numbers of trapped people and the current safe point where casualties and survivors were being rounded up at. John checked Scott's location then marked the roundup point on the map, along with a suggested place to land. He didn't need to tell Scott any more than that; his brother knew what needed to be done. A quick call to the local emergency call centre confirmed that local support was on its way.

John kept his eyes on the data but let his hearing drift to the conversation his youngest brothers were having. They were debating how bad Christmas dinner was going to be this year. A shiver went down his spine at the memory of last year's dinner. A rescue had called them away, leaving Grandma to cook. Thankfully Brains had relinquished MAX so at least the half the food was edible, even if the vegetables had been a little overcooked. The turkey was still dry but at least it wasn’t frozen in the middle, and the gravy was tasty and abundant enough to make up for it. John was brought out of his musings by more dots popping up on the display. Scott had sent out the drones and their scans were detecting more faint heat signatures. A quick check of the inventory confirmed the spare heat cone had been brought and John quickly marked out which people needed the most urgent attention. Scott's hologram appeared between John and Virgil and silence fell over the brothers.

"There are 13 people definitely unaccounted for. One group is using an older GPS application for locating each other. One of them is logging in now. I'm going to ping Thunderbird 5 from their phone, so John, have EOS hack it and superimpose the GPS data on what we already have."

"I’m on it, Scott."

"Alan and Gordon, you'll be in the pods. Follow John's instructions on who to rescue first. Virgil, grab the shovels and other equipment we'll need to start digging people out. I have a mountain rescue team here eager to help. You and I will work with them to get those closest to the surface out. Also bring five of the avalanche survival kits that Brains packed."

"Copy that, Scott"

"John, head down to Thunderbird 1 and coordinate from there. There is a dog team on the way. I want you to collect as much data as you can, then help them scout the area for anyone we haven't been able to locate. The mountain is still considered unstable so everyone must have a survival pack on them at all time. John, there are spares in 1 if the dog team need it, but they should bring their own. I'll meet you on the ground."

“FAB”

Scott disappeared. They were coming up to the mountain now and the location Scott had chosen for Virgil to land popped on the screen in front of his older brother. John watched as Virgil surveyed the land before starting landing procedures. John flipped back to his screen. EOS had gotten the extra information from the app and three more locations popped up on the map bring the total to eleven. With two still missing the dog team was going to be essential for finding them. The moment Thunderbird 2's engines shut off Alan and Gordon were out of their seats and heading towards the module. John and Virgil waited for Thunderbird 2 to rise before standing on the platform which lowered them to the snow below. Scott stood below with five others who were wrapped up in professional snow gear. Virgil headed into the module, feet stepping onto the door seconds after it hit the snow. John left his brothers to their tasks and hurried down the hill towards Thunderbird 1. He ran carefully as his feet sank into the snow with each step.

As John approach Thunderbird 1 the stairwell descended, and John smiled. He took the steps two at a time and grabbed a case from one of the craft's storage holds. He looked towards the pilot's seat where a hologram of EOS was hovering.

"Thanks for the help, EOS. I'm going to set up base in the evacuation point so I can be there to meet the dog team. You'll only be able to communicate with written words. You'll download what I need to the computer when I turn it on, right?"

"Of course I will John! What kind of AI do you take me for?"

"The mischievous kind."

John left Thunderbird 1 and EOS secured her up behind him. He followed the footprints Scott had made to the safe point. A quick conversation with the woman in charge and John had a table set up. The 3D holographic map now displayed his brother's icons and the heat signatures of the other rescue crew, which EOS was now tracking. John smiled as the pods reached their respective heat signatures and started the rescue. John watched over the rescue like this for thirty-five minutes and got to see the first few rescuees as they were carried to the safe area where paramedics were ready to treat them. When the dog team arrived, John introduced himself. He handed them each a pad and headset so he could communicate with them and showed them how to view the grid he'd made of the area. With the team split in two and with the shovels on their backs, John watched the dog team leave to scout their respective grids.

John sat back down and gazed at the map again. A quick communication with Scott confirmed that another two people had been rescued by them and they were heading to the next. John could see that one of the mountain team was bringing the next few rescuees down. John noted the deep breaths Scott tried to hide, so pulled up his and Virgil's suit stats. Both were a little warm, with increased respiration rates but all was with expected parameters. They would be tired later but were still fine to continue. Next on John's list was Gordon, who he knew kept an open line with Alan. A quick listen in on their communications showed that they were both focused on the rescue, relaying encouragement to each other. Speaking to them both, they each gave their progress updates, though Alan had to pause partway through as he had reached an avalanche capsule and had to jump out to retrieve it. Satisfied that International Rescue was performing as expected, John turned his attention back to the dog rescue teams. They had already cleared the lower quadrants which were less likely to have contained the missing people. The dogs were making great progress and five minutes later they had located one of the missing people. John sent Scott the coordinates, and he headed to them with two helpers, and allowed the dog and handler to continue searching.

An hour and a half later the dog team had finished covering the avalanche area and fifteen people had been rescued. The pods were back in the module, all equipment had been returned and they were all debriefing at the safe point. All the survivors had been carted off to hospital, and the mountain rescue team was preparing to take down the marquee that had been erected. John was glad to shake hands with and thank the people who had helped them and smiled as Alan was allowed to play with the dogs. They were pets during the summer and the play they received was part of the reward they got for doing a fantastic job. After being dismissed, John trudged up the hill towards Thunderbird 2. A snowball hit his shoulder and he turned to glare at Gordon, whose proud grin almost stretched up to his ears.

“Don’t even think about throwing another one.”

John watched as the snowball in Gordon’s hand flew at Virgil. John rolled his eyes and shook his head. It was a success rescue. Part of him knew there could still be people unaccounted for, but the probability was slim. Virgil took the snowball to the back without complaint and just continued to head up the mountain. John knew he was exhausted. Alan and Gordon continued the snowball fight all the way to Thunderbird 2, still full of energy from being in the pods for most the mission. John kept an eye on them and ducked his head a few times to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Virgil reached the base of Thunderbird 2 first and summoned the platform down. John saw Virgil reach down, before he turned to face him. John could see the weariness in his older brother’s face, but there was mischief in his smile. Virgil threw the snowball and John watched as it hit the back of Gordon’s head.

“Hey!”

Gordon beamed at Virgil and John smiled too. Sometimes you needed a little brother to remind you to relax and have fun. John reached Virgil’s side and helped him pelt the younger two with snow. They were all laughing when the entered the warm interior of the craft. They all sat down in their respective seats, the tinsel already tickling John’s neck again.

“What’s with all the laughter? What have I missed?”

Scott’s hologram floated in front of them all, a knowing smile on his face.

“We just took our time getting to the two, Scott!” Alan’s cheerful voice answered, the snowball in his hands dripped on the floor. Virgil gave the small puddle a dirty look, and Alan looked a little sheepish.

“Okay. Okay.” Scott laughed, “I’ll see you back at base.”

The flight back was uneventful, and John was glad to have a shower and be back in the warmth of the villa. Their suits may be able to keep them at a comfortable temperature, but there was still something about snow that chilled John to the bone. He walked into the living room and took a hot chocolate from the tray Scott was holding. John started to head to the stairs so he could sit on reading gallery, when Gordon stood in his way, the jumper in one hand and the other held out for his mug.

“We haven’t finished decorating yet and don’t think you can get out of wearing your Christmas jumper.”

John looked around the room at his family, all back in their own tacky Christmas jumpers, and sighed. He gave Gordon his mug and pulled the jumper over his head, before taking the drink back. John wondered how long he’d have to wait until they’d let him go back up to Thunderbird 5, knowing Gordon and Alan were about to go into full annoying younger brother mode as the finished putting up the Christmas decorations.

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820: Space Mutiny

Well, I did one of MST3k’s John Phillip Law movies, so I might as well do the other. Ladies, Gentlemen, etc, I give you: Mother. Fucking. Space. Mutiny.

The Southern Sun is a generation starship on its way to colonize a new planet. Most of the people on board are okay with this, but there’s a faction, led by Commander Kalgan, who want to abandon the mission and land somewhere. Kalgan and his cronies are willing to do anything to get their way, including sabotage the ship and make a deal with some space pirates. Lucky the Southern Sun has Dave Ryder, a big dumb beefalo of a man who will roll, shoot, and scream the rebels into submission! Oh, yeah, and there’s some Yoga Witches in the cargo hold, I dunno what’s up with that, but the movie assures me they contributed.

MUZ has been called the Manos of the Sci-Fi Channel era, in that it’s incoherent and badly-photographed. This is a compelling argument, but for my own part I consider Space Mutiny the Manos of the Sci-Fi Channel era, in that it’s absolutely iconic. It’s the episode that comes to mind when people think of that period in the show. It gave rise to memes. It’s also very much the Starcrash of the Sci-Fi Channel era, in that it is absolute comedy gold in ways the film-makers never intended.

You could write a book on the many sparkling facets of this movie's sucktitude. As Mike and the bots repeatedly observed, Cisse Cameron is ten years older than the character she’s playing, and the ‘engine room’ shots are all in a factory somewhere with sunlight shining through the windows. As they famously never observed even once, all the spacecraft shots are stolen from Battlestar Galactica. The bridge is made of cardboard. Nobody’s costume fits – Ryder’s in particular sags at the ass, which is a shame because I bet his ass is terrific. The women wear outfits so tiny that one with extra-long hair looks like Lady Godiva from behind. The end credits song takes the best bits of every 80’s power ballad ever written and assembles them into something far less than the sum of its parts. You can hear the singer’s mullet.

The writing is nothing short of stunning in its badness. Battle sequences are a mess, with no idea what’s at stake in each area the mutineers are trying to capture. There are whole scenes in which nothing much is actually said – the most glaring example is probably the bit where Commander Santa tells Captain Sting ‘it would have to be somebody on this ship with something to gain from this’. The exchange tells us nothing we didn’t already know. MacPherson only shows up in the room where Miss Santa is being interrogated so that he can expose himself as a traitor. Kalgan uses ‘space-bitch’ as an insult, unironically, twice, and calls Ryder a ‘meddling fool’.

There are at least three places where something is set up and then disposed of without ever being paid off. Commander Santa’s daughter tells Ryder that they can call for help against the pirates and mutineers, but he says he figures Kalgan has already installed scramblers – so they don’t even try. That seems to me like a situation where can’t hurt, might help would be a good philosophy. There’s also the ‘countermeasures’ subplot, where we learn that MacPherson will have revealed all their defense plans to the mutineers… and then the whole subject is just dropped. The biggest dangling plot thread, however, is the Bellerians.

These are the Yoga Witches I mentioned. They show up wearing bathing suits and veils, rub themselves all over the walls and some of those plasma globes that were popular in the 80s and 90s, and I think they seduce some of the security personnel. One of them visits Commander Santa and tells him it’s time for action, and they murmur things about time being up for one or other of the mutiny leaders, but they never actually do anything. The first time I watched this, as the MST3K episode, years and years ago, I remember waiting and waiting for the Bellerians to do something cool and they never did. They are entirely decorative.

(They also made it impossible for me to take Avatar seriously. The exchange a superintelligent dandelion seed! – Man, they'll worship anything! will not leave my head the entire damn movie.)

I also have to ask: if Kalgan and his followers are not satisfied living on the Southern Sun, why don’t they just… leave? The ship is clearly still in an inhabited part of the galaxy. There are the pirates, there’s the idea of calling for help, and people do come and go. Professor Spooner was on board the ship at some point to be Miss Santa’s mentor, then he left, and now he’s coming back. The Bellerians arrive and are given a place to stay, and it’s implied that they will be on board for some time but not permanently. Ryder is new to the Southern Sun, and I think the nonsensical does that mean you won’t marry me? at the end is supposed to tell us that he’s leaving again and hoping to take Miss Santa with him. If Kalgan wants to go, he can… but the writers completely ignore this.

Yet for all that, Space Mutiny is actually quite engaging. It’s structured like a proper movie, alternating between action, mystery, and romance. Reb Brown as Ryder and Cisse Cameron as Miss Santa have decent chemistry – they actually met on this movie, fell in love, got married, and are still married to this day. Sometimes you can’t follow what’s going on in an individual scene, but you always know where you are in the story as a whole.

Miss Santa appears to be an attempt at a Strong Female Character(tm). She’s supposed to be a PhD, and she gets involved with the shooting and punching right alongside Ryder. I think the did you see my butt? scene is supposed to tell us that she’s in charge of her own sexuality (this might work better if the camera didn’t leer like a miserly tipper at a strip club), and when she’s taken hostage she’s able to almost rescue herself by the time Ryder comes for her. She also has a few hints of actual personality, in that she’s shown using her work in the greenhouse as a way to blow off steam, and she sulks a bit when she doesn’t get her way (well, that’s gratitude for you!).

Ryder is a much larger presence in the movie, both physically and in terms of screen time, but he has far less to him as a person. He’s brave and heroic and likes to yell and shoot at things, and that’s about it. I suppose, like Duke Barnum in Last of the Wild Horses, he’s supposed to be a man-shaped hole that the audience members can place themselves in. It works a bit better here, because Ryder is a handsome, muscular space pilot, which seems, at least to me, like a better fantasy life than ‘broke cowboy who interferes in other people’s problems’. There’s also the fact that Ryder has a reason to be involved in these events, since he, too, is trapped on the Southern Sun with the mutineers.

I guess Space Mutiny is probably trying to be about long-term versus short-term goals. The Southern Sun was built with a long-term goal in mind – find and colonize a new planet. The people on board mostly accept that they are just a stage in this process, and that the end result will benefit descendants they will never meet. The mutineers are focused on a short-term goal, settling on a planet somewhere and becoming rich and powerful. The movie doesn’t really delve into the consequences for everybody else on the ship if Kalgan wins, but we’re clearly meant to assume that the long-term goal entails more benefit to more people. That’s a good enough theme, I guess.

One thing the movie does go into, although probably by accident, is the nature of male versus female power. The men in this movie – Captain Santa, Ryder, and Kalgan – are proactive, giving orders, firing guns, and throwing punches. The women largely sit at desks and serve drinks, and those who attempt to take action are punished for it. Lieutenant Lamont tries to investigate the theft of explosives, and gets shot (we’re supposed to ignore the fact that she’s back at her console ten minutes later). Leah goes to help Ryder in the battle and is lectured for it. These are unacceptable forms of power for women to wield.

Acceptable female power is embodied in the Bellerians, who manipulate events subtly from behind the scenes. Unfortunately, they do it so subtly that I have no idea what, if anything, they actually contribute – which just makes it look like women can tell themselves they’re in charge but they’re not. They’re just hanging out while the men do all the real work.

I guess I should mention that there’s only one guy in this movie who isn’t white, and he’s hanging up in a freezer in his underpants. I could complain, but I’m tired.

What makes some bad movies entertaining and others insufferable? What is the difference between, say, Teenagers from Outer Space and Invasion of the Neptune Men, or The Giant Spider Invasion versus The Starfighters? Looking back across the gulf of around two hundred bad movies I’ve written about in the past three and a half years, I’m going to say it involves weaving your failures into a structure that might otherwise work. Fun bad movies have characters we can follow and a plot that makes some kind of sense – we know who Ryder and Miss Santa are, and we have some idea what they’re doing, so we’re not sitting and trying to puzzle that out instead of enjoying the floor polisher chase scenes. Once the movie has us in a place where we want to pay attention, it doesn’t really matter if the technicalities are up to snuff. This is where movies like Radar Secret Service fail, and where Space Mutiny almost succeeds.

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12 Days of Tyrus

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Summary: The cold season is upon them and Cyrus finds himself wishing for a lot this festive season, many of those wishes happen to involve TJ.

Read on ao3

Chapter Three: Operation Deck The Halls

Word Count: 3494

It’s the day after Cyrus and TJ met at the mall and once his last class for the day is over, Cyrus makes his way towards his locker and a smile creeps wider on his face when he spies TJ leaning against it.

“Hey you.” Cyrus says as he approaches.

“Hey.” TJ is also smiley in response.

“Is there something I can do for you?” Cyrus asks as he reaches around TJ to get to his lock.

TJ rolls onto his side, giving Cyrus access to the locker. With arms folded and a shoulder now pressed against the locker beside Cyrus’, TJ asks, “If I ask for your help with something do you promise not to get all Cyrus-y?”

“Using my name as a verb kinda sounds like an insult...” Cyrus’ expression drops to mild confusion mixed with a slight frown.

“It’s not.” TJ says genuinely,“But still?”TJ remains in place and looks to Cyrus as he waits for a serious answer.

“I’m happy to help you with anything.” Cyrus is sincere, “But I can’t guarantee my reaction isn’t going to be Cyrus-y because I am Cyrus and by definition everything I do is Cyrus-y.”

TJ cracks a smile at this and gives an understanding nod. Cyrus hangs his book bag over his shoulder and the two begin to walk.

“So I listened to what you said yesterday about Christmas and I’ve decided-“

“Yes?” Cyrus’ grin is toothy as he anticipates the rest of that sentence.

TJ rolls his eyes even though his smile suggests he’s somewhat amused. “I’ve decided to give Christmas a chance this year.” Cyrus’ smile is in full force at this mention and TJ rolls his eyes again at Cyrus for reacting exactly how he imagined. “For the twins.” TJ adds firmly.

“Of course, for the twins.” Cyrus nods casually although he was struggling to contain his excitement.“Anything particular you had in mind?”

“Not really.” TJ shakes his head,“That’s why I want your help.”

“You want my help?” Cyrus asks surprised,“You remember I’m Jewish, right?”

“I do but I also remember you’re Cyrus and you’ve always helped me, even when Idon’t deserve it.” TJ says.“I don’t want to put you in a position that makes you uncomfortable, I don’t really know what you do when it comes to Christmas so I hope I’m not being disrespectful...I’m not asking you to write letters to Santa or anything like that, maybe just make sure I don’t Grinch out?” TJ asks sheepishly,“You understand that reference right?”

“Yes I understand.” Cyrus shakes his head at the silly question.“And I’m happy to assist.”

“Thanks.” TJ is a little mumbly.

“Since you’re embracing Christmas does this mean you’ll come to Andi’s party?” Cyrus asks hopefully.

“I don’t know.” TJ shrugs a shoulder, “I can tell Andi didn’t really want me to be there anyway.”

“But I want you there.” Cyrus says so simply like it wasn’t a big deal but it was, so much so that TJ stopped walking for a second because the kind sentiment took him by surprise.

“Then I’ll be there.” TJ says quietly once he’s back in stride with Cyrus.

Once out front of school TJ spots his mother in a parking space close by.

“I have to get going,” TJ announces, “It’s the twins birthday. Mom is taking us ice skating..” TJ doesn’t appear to be thrilled by the idea.

“Sounds dangerous,” Cyrus laughs.

“Want to come?” TJ asks.

“I would love to but I can’t.” Cyrus declines regretfully, “I fell behind with my homework during Hanukkah.”

“Kind of unfair that we get a break for Christmas but you don’t for Hanukkah.”

Cyrus shrugs lightly. “This weekend we can work on the whole embracing Christmas idea?”

“I have to look after the twins.” TJ says.

“Even better.” Cyrus beams. “Count them in too.”

-

On Saturday morning Cyrus gets dropped at the mall by his mother and he waits out by the big water fountain for TJ to arrive.

Cyrus is forcing heavy breaths and he watches it be visible in the cold air. His frosty exhale dissipates when his phone rings. A goofy snap of Jonah comes up as the caller I.D. and Cyrus answers with a smile almost present in his tone, “Helloooo.”

“Hey,” Jonah greets him back, “Are you busy today? Did you wanna hang out?”

“I can’t, I’m hanging with TJ.” Cyrus says apologetically.

“You’re always hanging out with TJ.” Jonah huffs.

“Do I detect a little jealousy?” Cyrus jokes with a laugh.

“Yes. You’re supposed to be my best friend.” Jonah says seriously, “I miss you.” Jonah says in a more joking manner although he meant it.

Cyrus smiles to himself. A year ago, such a statement from Jonah would have made Cyrus pass out but now he felt completely at ease.

“I promised TJ I’d help him with some Christmas stuff this weekend-“

“TJ the Grinch?” Jonah questions.

“Stop.” Cyrus scolds.

“I’m not being mean, he said so himself, he doesn’t like Christmas.” Jonah defends.

“Well he’s changed his mind.” Cyrus says. “I’m helping him embrace the holidays.”

“Who better to help than his best Jewish pal.” Jonah chuckles and Cyrus can’t help but laugh too.

“I think he’s come to the right person.” Cyrus says. “I’ve made a list of things for him,” then Cyrus’ expression curls into a proud one as he says, “And I’ve checked it twice.” Cyrus pauses for a reaction but is met with silence on the other end of the line, “Because of Santa?” Cyrus is disappointed his joke was wasted. “How is it that I’m the one who doesn’t celebrate Christmas?”

Jonah chuckles at this although it wasn’t meant to be funny. “I understood the joke I just didn’t think it was funny.” Jonah jokes.

“Rude.” Cyrus huffs.

Jonah shares another soft chuckle, “I’m going to call Gus and see if he’s free, have fun with TJ.”

Just as Cyrus ends his call with Jonah he spots TJ approaching with his twin siblings on either side of him.Katie’s sweet blonde curls are pinned back in pigtails on either side of her head with tiny little festive bows to decorate them. A red coat is wrapped around her petite frame for warmth with white stockings covering her short legs that poke out underneath. Her delicate hand locked tightly in her older brothers grip as he leads the way. Her free hand sending Cyrus an eager wave and melting his heart in the process. Cooper, the shyer twin is dressed just as savvy as his sister with a festive coloured tartan shirt poking out from underneath a knitted sweater and his hair is combed neatly to one side.

“Hello.” Cyrus greets them all with a smile.

“You two remember Cyrus?” TJ asks and both the youngsters nod.

“From the park.” Katie grins as she recalls the time Cyrus had spent the afternoon out and about with them a little while back.

“You two look very festive.” Cyrus says.

“I got the text you sent at 2am this morning.” TJ scoffs.

“I was beginning to wonder.” Cyrus folds his arms as he eyes TJ’s outfit.

“Hey.” TJ’s face curls into something of offence,“You said dress‘Christmassy’ this sweatshirt is green.”

“Khaki doesn’t count.” Cyrus is less than impressed.

TJ sighs in response.

“Itdoesn’t matter, I can fix it.” Cyrus says surely.“Let Operation Deck The Halls begin.” Cyrus nods excitedly and Katie shares this with a bounce on her toes.

“We’re back to mission names like with the whole Buffy ambush thing again?” TJ pouts.

“Absolutely, we have new codenames and everything,” Cyrus is very dramatic,“Katie you are Rudolph and Cooper you’re Frosty the Snowman.”

Katie is more outwardly excited about her codename than Cooper is although he shows his approval with a sheepish smile.

“Who am I, the Grinch?” TJ folds his arms.

“Nooo.” Cyrus says childishly,“You’re Scrooge.”

“Cause that’s so much better?” TJ fake gasps.

“I’m hoping for a similar outcome to A Christmas Carol.” Cyrus says in a almost challenging way.

“What’s your codename, Cyrus?” Katie leans in with a whisper as her six year old brain was taking the mission very seriously.

“Judah the Maccabee.” Cyrus grins proudly but when he’s met with three confused Kippen’s, he frowns,“He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Selecid Empire?” Cyrus looks at TJ like‘as if you don’t know’,“He’s like- the reason we have Hanukkah.” Cyrus simplifies it more once TJ still seemed confused.

“Okay, Judah the Maccabee,” TJ says with a smile,“What’s first?”

“I have a list.” Cyrus says pulling a piece of paper out of his coat pocket.“And I checked it twice.”Both Katie and Cooper react to Cyrus’ joke making him happier than Jonah’s light teasing.“First we have to get you something else to wear, then you three will take Santa photos and after that we will go back to my house where my mom will have preprepared cookies for us to decorated and then-” Cyrus stops after he grows nervous under TJ’s fond stare,“This is what you meant when you said Cyrus-y, isn’t it?” Cyrus wears a self aware look.

TJ’s smile just remains unwavering before he points it towards his siblings,“So you guys wanna get Santa photos?”

The twins excitedly agree and Operation Deck The Halls begins. First Cyrus drags the Kippen’s into a store where TJ is then forced to model ugly Christmas sweaters. At first the basketballer is sulky about this and acts all embarrassed but eventually he warms up to it and is goofy as he shows off the cliche jumpers for Cyrus and his siblings.

Eventually they all agree on a winner and they make their way to the picture with Santa stall where they have to wait in line for a ridiculous amount of time. Cyrus spends some of this time reflecting on the day so far, how TJ pretends to be annoyed at something but Cyrus knew he was actually enjoying himself. Cyrus also reflects on the whole concept of Santa and quietly laughs to himself as he imagined how petrified he would have been thinking a stranger would come down the chimney to eat cookies and drop off presents. Then he thinks how dramatic he would have been when he learnt Santa wasn’t real, like he had been lied to and would have made a huge deal out of it. Cyrus is thankful he skipped all that. Cyrus’ most dramatic moment from a past Hanukkah was when he burnt himself trying to light the menorah. There’s still a faint scar on his wrist.

As the group got closer to their turn for the photos, TJ would keep expressing his disinterest to take a photo and how embarrassing it was. Cyrus keeps insisting that it’s imperative to the mission that all three Kippen’s pose for the photo.

“Think of how much your mom will love the photo.” Cyrus reasons with him and when it comes to their turn, a sulky TJ stands by for the photo. The elf behind the camera calls him out for being grumpy and Cyrus stifles a chuckle. As the twins cheese for the photo and the elf counts down from 3, Cyrus pulls a goofy face that causes TJ to smile, a genuine grin that was captured on film forever.

After spending half the day at the mall, Cyrus brings the Kippen kids home with him where they go on to decorate cookies. Whist the three Kippen’s were destroying their Christmas designs, Cyrus was even messier with the personalised cookies he was trying to make for Andi, Buffy and Jonah.

When TJ’s mother Tess comes along to collect her children, the twins are exhausted but excited to show their mother everything they accomplished today. Tess briefly chats with Leslie and thanks her for letting the twins hang around for the afternoon. Before leaving, Tess invites Cyrus to come along with them tomorrow as they go shopping for a tree. Cyrus is uncertain but Leslie encourages him to accept.

After the Kippen’s leave, Leslie asks Cyrus what was troubling him.“Did you not want to go with them tomorrow?” Leslie questions.

“I don’t know.” Cyrus says honestly.“I’ve always been very proud to be Jewish. It feels a little strange being this close to Christmas.Today I was just helping TJ, hanging out really while they did the Christmassy stuff but tomorrow feels more involved.”

“Honey, going to look at trees doesn’t make you a bad Jew.” Leslie can’t help but smile a little as shewraps her wraps her arms around her son and rubs his shoulder,“This kind of thing has never bothered you before in the past with the girls?”

“I know but with Andi and Buffy it’s like I’m used to existing alongside their Christmas spirit. I don’t even really notice it. Like Andi having a Christmas party, I didn’t even think that was strange for me when I said I was excited for it.”

Leslie takes a moment and appears to be carefully trying to craft her words,“TJ was very respectful at dinner last weekend, I don't see the harm in you being the same for him as long as you’re comfortable with it.”

“I think I am comfortable and that’s why I feel guilty.” Cyrus admits.

Leslie gives him a sympathetic smile,“Plenty of people celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. Take Jared for example, he celebrates Hanukkah but he also shares Christmas with Allison because that’s important to her. If you want to share this with TJ you shouldn’t feel guilty for that.”

The comparison to his stepbrother and his girlfriend made Cyrus nervous.“We’re just going to pick out a tree, not get married.” Cyrus forces a laugh and it comes out riddled with nerves. Leslie sports a kind smile and Cyrus knew in his heart that his mother already knew exactly how he felt for TJ but for some reason he still couldn't bring himself to speak to her about it.

“I dated a boy back in high school before your father, he was a Christian and absolutely obsessed with Christmas.” Leslie says with a funny smile as she looks back on the memory,“Weirdest holidays of my life. His house was full of creepy little Santa dolls, I felt like their eyes were following me.”

“Right?” Cyrus laughs as he thinks back to his reflection session at the photo stall earlier,“If Christmas does end up being a part of my life for one reason or another later on, I’m seriously going to have to discuss the whole Saint Nicholas thing...”

Cyrus and his mother share another laugh, suddenly he was feeling better about everything. Reconnecting with his Christmas spirit was important to TJ therefore it was important to Cyrus, it was as simple as that.

-

The following day Cyrus tags along with the Kippen’s as they pick out a tree. Cyrus is surprised to discover they purposely look for the ugliest one available but he quickly warms the idea of a quirky tree. He thinks how much Bex would love doing something like that.

Once the tree is picked out, Tess invites Cyrus to join them for decorating and dinner. Cyrus nervously looks to TJ before answering, their whole fight over prying into TJ’s home life was still fresh and Cyrus didn’t want to do anything that could potentially drive a wedge between them but TJ nods with a smile to show he’s okay with the idea.

Cyrus goes over to TJ’s house for the first time and he spends the evening getting to know more about TJ. As the Kippen’s decorate their rather sad looking tree, Cyrus feels more comfortable sitting back and watching. Cyrus found it nice watching how happy they all were, he notices Tess keeps stealing proud glances as she watches TJ happily help the twins decorate. Cyrus wonders how deep his distaste towards Christmas was at home before he agreed to try and embrace it again.

Then when they sat at the table for dinner, Cyrus would also admire the vibe in the room, it was evident that TJ adored his siblings but he also appeared to love and respect his mother deeply. It wasn’teven new information Cyrus was learning about TJ but somehow he felt like there was this whole new layer to him he hadn’t seen before.

After the dishes are washed up, Cyrus and TJ find a moment alone in front of the small fireplace.

“Thanks for being Cyrus-y this weekend. It was exactly what I needed.” TJ says with a smile,“I forgot how much I enjoyed Christmas when I was younger.”

“You’re welcome.” Cyrus grins too,“Thanks for letting me tag along today. I never really thought about anyone showing me Christmas the way I show them Hanukkah.. It was a new experience for me.”

“I’m sure there would have been better people to show you.” TJ says.

Cyrus shakes his head,“It was perfect. I know technically it’s not Christmassy but dinner was my favourite part.”

“It was nothing special.” TJ shrugs and Cyrus frowns that he was being so negative or more so that he actually felt that way about it all.

“I really like your family.” Cyrus smiles as he tries to shine a light on it, “Coop is so quiet I get so excited when he warms up to me and Katie makes me wish I had a little sister.”

TJ points a small smile towards his lap, “It’s a bit of a contrast to your family dinner.”

“Dinner’s not like that every night in my house.” Cyrus says.

“It’s still nice.” TJ lifts his gaze with a weak smile,“Your parents getting along like that.”

“I know I’m pretty lucky.” Cyrus’ smile is small,“And I know I say this without knowing the full story but I’d feel pretty lucky if I were you too, you have a mom that loves you and a brother and sister that adore you.”

“And a dad that thinks we’re all too much.” TJ says bitterly.“Sorry.” He quickly adds with a mumble.

“You can talk to me about it, if you want?” Cyrus studies TJ’s face to make sure he wasn't forcing him to open up if he wasn’t comfortable.

“I want to.” TJ says sheepishly,Cyrus wears a soft and comforting smile but remains quiet so TJ can continue,“It was four years ago, about a month before Christmas, the twins had just turned two and my dad had been fired from his job, he was drinking more than usual and fighting with my mom a lot. I was ten so I wasn’t oblivious the the fact that things were tense between my parents and money was tight. I wasn’t expecting much for Christmas but I still wanted to give something to my parents so I made this dumb popsicle stick picture frame at school and I put a photo of our family in it. I was so excited about the gift, I wrapped it and put it under the tree. On Christmas morning I ran downstairs because I wanted to give it to them and that’s where I found my dad passed out. He had stumbled and knocked over the tree, wrecking the whole thing, breaking my gift and the few my mom had bought for us... My mom came down and found him like that, they got in a huge fight, the biggest I had ever heard them have and then my dad left and he never came back...”

“TJ, I’m so sorry.” Cyrus’ heart aches for his friend.

TJ shrugs,“The worst part is that I spent the first couple of Christmases secretly wishing he'd come home ready to fix everything. Then about a year and a half ago I found out that my dad did clean up his act but it was for another woman and her three kids..” TJ lowers his gaze to his hands and he fidgets nervously,“So while he tucks in those kids at night, I have a brother and sister who don’t even know who he is and a lasting memory of him walking out the door after telling me‘you’re all too much’...”

It got worse. Cyrus was as a loss for words, no wonder TJ was so frustrated about the holidays and this possibly could have spoken for some of his behavioural issues the previous year then they first met. Cyrus searches his brain frantically for something comforting to say, anything to make the sad smile on TJ’s face dissipate but all he could think to say was,“I’ve only spent half a day with your family and I couldn’t imagine ever not wanting to be apart of it.”

TJ’s smile curls into one more genuine,“I guess I ampretty lucky too.”

End Notes:I love you TJ, I’m sorry!!!

In this chapter: ✓ Christmas with the Kippen’s (day two’s prompt) ✓ Chirsmukkah (day six’s prompt) ✓ Santa Photos ( day ten’s prompt) ✓ The worst Hannukah/Christmas Ever (day eleven’s prompt)

As always any likes/ reblogs and comments are welcomed and very much appreciated!!

Tag list: 

anyone wanting to be added or removed is welcomed to message me! :)

❄️ @baby-its-gayy-outside ❄️ @byersrainbows ❄️ @geekingbeautytx ❄️ @shadows78787 ❄️ @bingewatchingenthusiast ❄️ @joshua-rush-fanpage ❄️ @thedampjofangirl ❄️ @homosexualearthworm ❄️ @jovianspacewoman ❄️ @janky-snorpion ❄️

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Won’t Go Slowly // 28

One // Two // Three // Four // Five // Six // Seven // Eight // Nine // Ten // Eleven // Twelve // Thirteen // Fourteen // Fifteen // Sixteen // Seventeen // Eighteen // Nineteen// Twenty // Twenty One // Twenty Two // Twenty Three // Twenty Four // Twenty Five // Twenty Six// Twenty Seven

A/N: Sorry it’s late!

One of the great things about working in academics, in your opinion, was the fact that you got extended holiday breaks. You were spending most of your days hanging around the house with Marshall in your pajamas, going for a nice evening walk in the snow (usually still in your pajamas), taking breaks from the organizing and measuring of your office to look at baby furniture and watch movies, usually watching Grey's Anatomy over the phone with Tyler before bed. Basically, the only thing you had to get dressed for these days was your prenatal yoga class and, even then, you were just wearing yoga clothes, so it was pretty much pajamas.

Today, though, however, you'd actually put clothes on because you and Marshall had a errand to run. He was sitting in the passenger seat, sitting up like he was a human, and you got some interesting looks and laughs as you drove. He looked so happy with himself though, that you couldn't resist taking a picture when you were at a stop light, sending it to Tyler. Marshall started cowering, however, when you drove towards town, and you suspected he thought he was going to the vet again.

"It's okay, we're going someplace fun," you reassured him, although he still looked doubtful when you pulled into the parking lot. You definitely knew that he'd been to a pet store when he was a puppy, because you'd been with him a couple of times when Tyler needed to grab dog food, but you weren't sure if he'd actually been to a pet store as an adult dog who you couldn't pick up anymore. The good thing was that he was pretty well-behaved and even-keeled, so you biggest worry would probably be him taking out a shelf of items with his wagging tail.

It was pretty humorous watching his eyes widen once you opened the door to the store as if he'd never seen such an incredible place before. He looked up at you, like he wasn't quite sure he was even allowed to go inside but, once you told him he could, he stepped inside and started sniffing immediately.

"Hi," the girl behind the counter said brightly, her eyes cast downwards, "What's your name?"

You answered for him, and her eyes flicked up to yours again. "Can he have a treat?"

When he heard the word 'treat', Marshall immediately sat down, and then started swiping at the air, trying to show off his ability to shake a paw. "Yes," you said with a laugh, and she came out from around the counter, crouching down in front of him.

"I didn't have to ask you to sit," she said, giving him two treats, which he took happily. Afterwards, she asked you what if you needed help finding anything, and you said you told her you were just looking for Christmas presents, so she left you to browse.

You went to the Christmas section first, because they needed Christmas toys, in your opinion. You chose a Christmas tree that looked pretty chew proof for Gerry, and a soft reindeer for Marshall because he liked to cuddle with his toys. You were picking out a penguin with a squeaker for Cash, when you noticed a box of candy cane dog treats. And then you got an awesome idea, and added it to the collection that you were creating.

And then you went to look in the regular toy section, picking Gerry out a puzzle toy that you could put treats inside that would hopefully keep him occupied because he'd apparently been having some....behaviour issues lately, and you found a toy that looking like skipping rocks for the pool or lake for Cash (and that Tyler would probably enjoy, too). You were just deciding on a ball for Marshall that you could kick and throw and that also floated on water, when your phone pinged with a text from Tyler.

Tyler: Are you taking my dog on a date?

Tyler: Make sure he pays

Tyler: He'll probably try to get in your bed after just fyi

You laughed to yourself, and then you realized, that while you had a collection of presents for his dogs, you had absolutely no idea what to get for him. Nothing seemed quite right, and you wondered if maybe you should try to do things differently this year. You'd already gotten gifts for the pups, who were really easy to impress, and you knew Tyler had stuff for the baby. So, maybe, you could just exchange Christmas presents between your "kids" for this year. It wasn't like there was anything either of you needed, anyways.

With your six toys and the holiday dog treats, you went to the check out counter, the woman from earlier before looking over all of your purchases and smiling down at Marshall. "Someone's a lucky boy," she said, as she started to ring everything through.

"Oh, they're not all for him," you said, "For his brothers, too."

"How many brothers does he have?"

"Two," you answered, and before she could ask said, "All labs."

"Three labs?" she asked, and you noticed her glance at your belly, so you instinctively rubbed it, "that must be a busy household."

You opened your mouth, and then shut it again, because you weren't about to start explaining that they weren't your dogs. "It is," you said, "But there's a lot of love, too."

"I'll bet," she said, bagging up all your purchases. "Have a Merry Christmas, guys."

You were so overtaken by the Christmas spirit and all the decorations at the shopping plaza that you decided to stop at Starbucks for a holiday themed drink, and got a puppaccino for Marshall, which he devoured in the car.

When you got home, you contemplated calling Tyler, but you couldn't remember whether he had a game tonight or not. And then you remembered the internet.

You crashed on the couch as the phone was ringing, to which Tyler answered, "So, did he kiss you?"

You didn't know what he was talking about, until you remembered the text he sent you in the store. "Yes," you answered, "With tongue."

"That's aggressive," Tyler said, and then, "Hang on, babe, one sec."

You were expecting him to set the phone down while he did something, but instead you heard him say in a stern voice. "Gerry, stop that. Those are expensive shoes."

You heard a shuffling noise and then a sigh. "Sorry," he said, "someone is acting like a two year old."

"Well, isn't he?"

"Not in dog years," he said, and then, in his dog voice, "Oh, and now you want to cuddle with me, huh? Are you sorry for what you did?"

You shook your head, laughing. "I had a question," you said, "About Christmas."

"Santa's real," Tyler said, "Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

You snickered, laying back on the couch and running a hand through your hair. "No, I was wondering if maybe you and I could not exchange Christmas gifts this year?"

" Why?" Tyler whined.

" Because, I know you already got stuff for the baby..."

"So? You always get presents for me and the dogs. I'm not allowed to get you a present, too?"

" Tyler, I just don't think we should --""

"Well, it's too late," he said, "I already have your present."

"What is it?"

"I'm not telling you," he said, "That'd defeat the whole purpose of a present."

Obviously. But you really just needed an idea of what it might be so you could get a comparable gift. "Is it something for the baby?"

"Mmmnope, that's separate," he said, "Well, kind of, I guess, in a way."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you might enjoy it while you're pregnant. But it's just for you," he said, "And it's not what you might think, either."

"What?" You questioned. You definately hadn't hinted that there was anything you wanted because there wasn't.

"I mean, I understand if you want a vibrator, but I don't really feel comfortable buying that for you. It's kind of personal thing."

"Tyler!" You yelled, in shock that he had just said that. But, in all honestly, you shouldnt be that suprised. "Seriously...."

He laughed loudly. When he was done, he said, "It's just a little something. You don't have to freak out or anything."

You sunk back into the couch, even more if possible. "I don't know what to get you."

"You don't have to get me anything for Christmas," he said, "you can just get me twice as many presents for my birthday, it's fine."

"If you're getting me something for Christmas, then I'm getting you something for Christmas," you said, "What do you want?"

"A really big hug?"

"Tyler..."

"Uhh..." he make a noise like he just fell back into the couch. "Honestly, I'd be really happy if you baked me some cookies. Like, a whole tin I can take back with me and not have to share."

You were about to respond when you heard a knocking noise, and then a ruffle of paws against the floor. "Hey, babe, I gotta head out for dinner," he said, and then after you said "okay", he added, "With some of the guys. I'll call you later, okay? If Gerry doesn't eat my entire house while I'm gone. Cash, you're babysitting."

After you said goodbye, you laid your head back, looking up at Marshall sitting at the under end of the couch, staring at you. "What do you think I should get for your Dad?" you asked, and he just tilted his head, still staring at you. You reached up, scratching him behind the ears. "Well, you're no help at all."

It seemed impossible, this year, for some reason. Nothing quite seemed to fit quite right, or be the right combination, and then you realized why.

What did you get for the man who had already given you the best gift ever?

Nothing seemed like it would ever be enough.

**

"C'mon," you said to Marshall, opening the door to the car so he could jump out, grabbing the box of candy cane shaped dog biscuits, ready to enact the plan that had come to you in the pet store. You grabbed the tray with your peppermint mocha and Marshall's puppaccino to set the Christmas spirit even more, unlocking the door to Tyler's house with one hand, setting everything down, and then going around to turn on lights. And turn on some Christmas music.

"Are you going to help me with the tree?" you asked him, but he just sat down and then pawed your leg, and you realized he just wanted his treat. So, you gave it to him, while you ventured into the garage, realizing that this was going to be the hard part. You found the box with the tree first, realizing that it was way to cumbersome for you to lift by yourself right now. So, you took piece by piece out, setting them in the living room, while Marshall was licking his container of whipped cream across the floor. You might have created a bad habit.

You huffed as you used your legs to push the couch out of the way just enough that you could set the tree up, Marshall looking at you like you were crazy for moving the furniture. Finally, it was out of the way enough that you could begin setting the tree up, standing back and taking a sip of your Peppermint Mocha every now and then, singing along with the music as you fluffed the tree up. Once you were satisfied with it, you plugged in the lights, and then went back into the garage for the boxes of decorations, bringing them up to the living room. On your last pass, you noticed through the window that it had started to snow again, so you opened the garage door, deciding to put your car in there while you were here so you wouldn't have to wipe all the snow off it afterwards.

Marshall was waiting for you at the door when you went back inside, and you leaned down to pet him. "I'm not leaving you here, don't worry."

He left and came back with a rope a moment later, pushing it against your leg, and you halfheartedly reached down and tugged it a little, knowing that if you went hard, he could pull you over. You also realized that Tyler hadn't really packed any toys for him, probably because he had thought he was hurt so, other than the couple of tennis balls you had around your house, Marshall hadn't had any toys, so you made a mental note to take a couple with you when you left.

You opened the bins, taking a look at what you had to work with, and then you noticed the Dallas Stars ornaments sitting on top, and remembered that you thought he had a game for tonight. You turned on the TV, flicking through the channels and muting it, so it didn't compete with the holiday music you had going. You finally found it, and saw the game was still scoreless. St. Louis, that's where it was.

His ornaments were kind of a hodgepodge, probably because he didn't always spend Christmas here. There were the Dallas Stars ornaments, a couple of hockey related ornaments you recognized that his Mom had given him when he was a kid, and quite a few dog ornaments, that probably his mom had given him at some point as well, as well as several of those cinnamon ornaments that you'd made together your second year of college, when you'd got yourself a mini Christmas tree for your apartment but didn't to spend money on ornaments. The rest was a mix of plain Christmas balls, like he'd just bought them at the last minute to fill in all the holes. They didn't even match. You made do, as best as you could, thankful that the lights were white so there wasn't a huge clash. You were almost done, when you found something hard, wrapped in tissue at the bottom of the box, and you unwrapped it to find an ornament, one of which you had very similar, that you made in the ceramics portion of art in eight grade. His was, well, it was absolutely horrible looking, paint swiped across it at the last minute, and you remember Kirsten mercilessly making fun of him for it, even before they were together, and before you really knew him. You hung it on a branch, right front and centre. And then you dug into the last wrapped item, but it fell out and you started laughing immediately, half bending and half squatting to pick up the tiny curve of wood. You remembered it, when he was taking this woodworking class in eleventh grade, and he'd been excited because he had this elaborate plan to jigsaw a skate out of wood. But the skate, as he showed you, kept getting smaller and smaller, and he ended up having to form it into a hockey stick, and he ended up failing the assignment, and you'd had to bite your lip not to try and laugh when he showed you his finished project. His mom, if you remembered, said something like "that's great, honey," when he showed it to her, and the both of you had exchanged a look like it wasn't.

You hung that on the tree, too, and were about to go about your project, when you realized that Marshall was sniffing the box of treats that you had bought, and you had a sudden vision of the tree toppling over as the dogs attacked it, especially with how Gerry was apparently acting. You sat down on the couch to rethink your plan, noticing that it was snowing even harder now, and you really, really were not in the mood to drive home while it was snowing. So, ordered yourself a pizza and went to Tyler's room, rummaging through his drawers to find yourself a pair of pj pants and a shirt. And then you found a string of garland, working on weaving it through the stairs, hanging the candy cane dog treats off it when you were done. Marshall was very curious about what you were doing, so you had to instruct him not to eat all the treats right now.

It looked pretty great, in your opinion, when you were done. The only thing you hadn't done was hung the star, because you'd have to stand on something to do so, and you didn't want to do that when your centre of gravity was constantly changing. But, at least his tree would be up and decorated when he got home for the holidays.

You ate your pizza as you watched the end of the game, finally crawling into bed with Marshall afterwards, arranging a variety of pillows around you, with him curled up by your legs. Both of you fell asleep pretty quickly, and you could hear Marshall start to snore just as you drifted off, too.

It was so much lighter in the room when you woke in a daze, realizing that what woke you was Marshall growling by your feet. You reached your hand out to pet him, thinking he was dreaming, but his head was up, and he was staring at the half open door growling. You didn't hear anything, other than snow falling off the tree outside. "Marshall," you said lightly, frowning when he bared his teeth, not even looking at you, "It's okay."

All of a sudden, he lept out of bed, barking like you'd never heard him bark before, pushing past the door, and then you heard a voice. "It's just me." It startled you, but it seemed familiar, and then you placed it, flying out of bed yourself because you could hear Marshall still barking and a commotion on the stairs.

"Marshall!" you yelled, throwing open the door, and seeing Tyler's Dad standing there petting Marshall now, who had calmed, although the hair on the back of his neck was still standing up, a remnant of him trying to make himself more intimidating.

When Marshall saw you, he came back over to you, and you crouched down, petting him, "It's okay," you said, and he licked you on the face, and then you asked Paul, "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Nah, he was fine once he realized who he was," he said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Tyler didn't tell me you were here."

"Oh, he doesn't know I'm here," you said, and then you cringed, "I mean, he gave me a key. He just didn't know I was here, tonight."

He laughed, "It's his house, you don't have to explain it to me," he said, and you stood back up slowly, your legs feeling shaking when you realized you that you were standing here, in front of Tyler's father wearing Tyler's clothes, with a pretty noticeable baby bump. And you had no idea what to say.

"You're...." Paul said, his eyes eyes drifting downwards and your hand going over your belly, because there was no way of hiding it. "I didn't know you were....expecting."

Shit, shit. Shit, shit, shit.

"Yeah," you answered, "Umm...Tyler was going to tell you over Christmas."

He nodded a little, looking like he was deep in contemplation. "So, you're....living here now? With Tyler? I didn't see your car or anything."

"Oh, no, no," you said quickly, "I just came to set up the tree. My car's in the garage. It was snowing, so I didn't want to drive."

He smiled then, for a moment, "That's just what I was coming over to do this morning."

"Oh sorry, I didn't realize."

"No, no, I'm sure you could do a better job of it than I could anyways," he smiled, "I just wanted it to be here for when Tyler got home."

You stood there for a moment, just looking at each other and then you realized the reason he thought you were living there, was because he thought the baby you were having was Tyler's. Which it was. But only kind of.

"It's his sperm!" you blurted out. And then you realized you just said the word 'sperm' again, to Tyler's father, and you shook your head.

"What?" Paul asked.

"I...I wanted to have a baby," you said, "And Tyler donated sperm. At the clinic. We went to the clinic a lot." You realized you were rambling now, trying to make sense of anything, and avoid telling him all the details.

"It's not his responsibility," you tried, rubbing your hand over your belly more.

"Oh," he said simply, and then he scratched the back of his head, much like Tyler did, "Well, I should go. Let you go back to sleep."

"It's okay," you said. It wasn't like this was your house anyways.

"Nah, I just came to do that job anyways," he said, looking like he was thinking about going, "You're not, you weren't planning on staying here tonight were you? I'm sure you can, I'm not saying you should go."

"I was going to go home," you said, and then added with a laugh, to make him feel like he wasn't putting you out, "There's no groceries here, anyways."

"Oh," he said, "Do you need groceries? I can..."

"Oh no, I've got plenty. At home."

"Okay," he said, turning away and then back again, like he didn't know quite what to do. "I'll just shovel the driveway for you before I go."

"Oh, that's okay," you said, leaning down to pet Marshall, hoping to steal some of his calm. "You don't have to do that."

"It's no trouble," he said, "you should be safe."

You knew you weren't going to convince him otherwise, so you accepted, a mix of 'take care''s and 'it was nice to see you"s as he left, and you ran your hand over your face as soon as the door closed in embarrassment. And then you realized you weren't even wearing a bra, either. Great.

You took a long shower, needing to completely wash all the awkward off you, realizing that you'd need to call Tyler and tell him, but you couldn't face that right now. Maybe after breakfast.

After you got out of the shower though and realized that Paul was no longer in the driveway, you went back into Tyler's room and your phone was lit up with a text.

Tyler: HAHAHAHAHA

You groaned, focusing on making yourself pancakes , and feeding Marshall, and then trying to enjoy said pancakes.

It was probably 40 minutes later when your phone rang, and you answered it with a heavy "hi", to which Tyler responded with giggles.

"I can't believe my Dad walked in on you," he took a break to breathe, "in my bed. And that Marshall tried to attack him."

"It's not funny," you said. It was mortifying is what it was. "And I was not in your bed. I was in the hallway outside your bedroom."

"But you were in my bed," he said, "Why were you in my bed?"

"Tyler," you started.

"I gave you a key, you're allowed to use it," he said, still sounded amused by the whole thing. "I'm just curious, why were you in my bed?"

"I...." you looked down at the dog at your feet, and remembered not to give away the whole surprise, "I came over to get some toys for Marshell and it started snowing so I just decided to sleep here."

If he didn't believe you, he didn't let on. "Were you naked?"

"No, I was not naked," you said, "I was in your clothes. Which is worse."

Tyler laughed. "How is that worse?"

"Because it's like...it's like we're sleeping together."

"Well, we did sleep together," he said.

"Yes, but I don't want your Dad to know that," you said, and then you remembered there were so much more important things: the pregnancy. The baby. "What did he say?"

"Uh...I'm not sure if he really believed you," Tyler said, "Or me. I might have to show him the paperwork."

"Oh god," you muttured, sitting down at the kitchen table again.

"Babe, it's fine," Tyler said, "Honestly. Honestly, he's probably just glad I got someone pregnant on purpose."

You made a small noise because telling everyone was a lot, and you didn't expect to be so involved in the process. Especially when Tyler had said it was his responsibility.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it," he said, "You're really making this easy on me, you know."

"Hmm?"

"You tell everyone, and then I just get to swoop in and smooth everything over," he said.

"Okay, I did not tell your mother, you let it slip."

"You told her you were pregnant," Tyler said, "that helped. You wanna tell my sisters, too?"

"No."

"Please?" He asked sweetly.

"Not a chance."

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An interruption in the 1st law of thermodynamics.

Previously Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23Chapter 24 Chapter 25

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Many thanks to @katnoenau​ for the beta!!!

Chapter 26. Lallybroch

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For a seventeen-year-old I had traveled a lot. Each journey was a new adventure, a new discovery. Busy cities filling my eyes with bright colors while their busy bees buzzed in my ears with engines and horns. Quiet rocky mountains begging to be walked. Endless deserts holding millions of stars in the sky atop them. I’ve ridden bumpy roads leading to little villages forgotten by time and men, while dust and flowers filled my senses. I had imprinted in my memory the yellow of the sand - hues changing from daffodil to fire - and the green of the pines - unchanging, always fierce and persistent.

I thought that visiting the Scottish Highlands would be just another destination to cross off my bucket list. The place wouldn’t matter a lot. The most important thing in my mind was that it would – finally – bring me closer to Jamie. Being away from him for a whole week was worse than I thought, even with all the texts and video calls.

But the trip to Lallybroch turned out to be something more than that.

It wasn’t the big skies or the stunning landscapes, the snow covered meadows and munros, enhancing their formidable beauty. It was the peaceful feeling the place gave me as we headed north, making my every breath come easier, fuller. This wasn’t an adventure. It felt like I had already been there and every inch of land was waiting for me to return.

Strangely, it felt like home.

It felt like Jamie.

The magic of the Highlands only increased my anticipation of seeing him. I couldn’t wait to breath the same crisp air with him, to share the same views with our hands intertwined - tree branches made to resist the winter together, waiting for spring to come so they’d burst into life again. Our spring had come in the middle of the Christmas break and the promise of life shared between our lips made me smile during the entire trip to Beauly. Lamb commented on that - of course he would - teasing me and singing to me old romantic songs over the music on the radio. I tolerated him, because I had to, hoping that while at Lallybroch, Jamie’s da would keep him busy enough not to notice our heart eyes.

Once we arrived in Beauly, I saw Lamb concentrate, face scrunched up in thought. I wanted so much to tease him, looking like a little child as he did so, but I didn’t want us to get lost so I kept silent. Brian Fraser had given explicit instructions to Lamb to find Lallybroch, which, apparently, was well out of town. After a few missed turns and two phone calls to Jamie’s da to ask for help, we finally saw the imposing manor in front of us.

“Dear Lord,” Lamb whispered. “This house must be three hundred years old.”

“More or less,” I nodded. The three-story manor was more impressive than I thought it’d be based on Jamie’s descriptions, but it had something homey about it, something that made me feel welcome. It also had Jamie, so I wouldn’t care less if it was a tiny croft.

Jamie appeared at the front door the moment my boot crushed the fluffy snow. He came to greet us with a smile that I guessed was mirroring mine, and he ceremoniously shook Lamb’s hand.

“Welcome to Lallybroch, Mr Beauchamp.”

At least he didn’t lay out a bloody red carpet.

“Thank you for having us, lad.” Lamb smiled back at him and winked at me before taking his suitcase and heading towards the house.

What was that wink?

Jamie was by my side in an instant, and after a quick glance to be sure that Lamb had gotten into the house, his lips found mine. Soft, hot and perfect.

“I missed ye, Sassenach.” He sighed when our eyes locked and I shivered at the feel of his breath on my still wet lips.

“I missed you, too.” I purred. Did I really purr? God! “It felt like a bloody eternity.”

“Aye, I ken. Let’s go inside, or else they’ll start talking.” He made an apologetic face, as if it was his own fault that the rest would comment on our delay and lifted my suitcase. Our hands clasped together tightly as he walked into the house, aching for each other’s touch, trying to recover the days of emptiness.

Lamb was still in the hallway when Jamie and I entered the front door. I could see from the glint in his eyes and his faint smile that he was enchanted by the old manor. Well, it had the one characteristic he loved most than anything else in the world. It was old. Everything old had a special power over Lamb and I smiled at the sight of him looking around amazed, like a small child in a candy shop.

I mimicked him, my gaze falling on the portraits, similar slanted eyes staring soberly out at us, the newcomers. Fraser eyes. Turning my head, I searched for my Fraser’s eyes, to find them looking at me, blue and beautiful and full of life. I’d choose them over the ones in the portraits a million times over.

When we’d moved further into the house, I was convinced that Lallybroch was as impressive on the inside, as it was from the outside.

Like it’s inhabitants, more or less.

It had vintage decorations I’d seen in magazines, but it was natural, unpretentious. The heavy furniture, the thick carpets, the old paintings covering the walls, they didn’t suffocate me. They warmed my heart.

There was a huge Christmas tree full of ornaments and lights next to be fireplace, branches of holly with red fruits making the dark wood coffee table more festive, and little snowmen and Santa Clauses in every corner I could see. I’ve never lived in a home so changed in terms of decoration for Christmas. Lamb and I hardly put the lights on our tiny tree.

Yes, the house was grand and beautiful, but I was more interested in its inhabitants. And one most particularly.

Brian Fraser and Jenny met us in the living room, and as my uncle followed Jamie’s da into his office, Jenny offered to show me to my room.

“I can show Claire her room myself, Janet.” Jamie said in a matter-of-fact voice. “Thank ye, though.” All I could do was shrug apologetically to Jenny – who was smiling with mischief – before Jamie took my hand and almost dragged me up the stairs.

In less than a minute I was pinned against the door of my room, Jamie’s strong hands traveling over my body. Our lips found each other in a lustful dance, taking toll for all the days of absence, threatening to burn us with their heat. It was a feeling bigger than us. A thirst that needed to be quenched, lungs that needed to breathe nothing else but each other, an instinct of survival.

Our hearts were bored of their conventional beating. They needed to bang hard in our chests, pushing the blood flow harder, making us feel alive again.

We couldn’t stop. And we wouldn’t have, if Brian Fraser hadn’t called Jamie to bring some wood in for the fireplace downstairs.

He shouted Jamie’s name twice. And then once more.

As if bringing the bloody wood was a matter of life and death.

--

We sat across from each other at dinner, my eyes locked with his, our lips absently curling up. I was thinking of how beautifully his auburn curls adorned his face, their contrast with the deep blue of his eyes, the bronze skin that smelled like soap and sandalwood when Jenny leaned towards me, interrupting my thoughts.

“Ye better eat something Claire, or else ye’re gonna starve aye? Staring my brother isna verra filling, ye ken.”

I don’t know about filling, but he is bloody delicious.

Get a grip, Claire!

I blushed with Jenny’s remark, but even more with my own thoughts. Tearing my eyes away from Jamie, I fixed them on the untouched piece of shepherd’s pie on my plate. When I gathered up the courage to look at him again, all I could see was a gigantic frown on his face. Shaking my head slightly to dismiss his worry, I grabbed my fork and started eating the pie – one of the best I’d ever had – as if I was on a secret mission and this was the main reason I attended dinner. I spotted each little crumble, trying to lift it with my fork, pressing it against the plate’s porcelain and pushing it around. Anything to keep my attention away from Jamie.

Until he kicked me under the table.

My fork fell on the floor with clatter and I snorted, bending to take it. For my bad luck, it landed on Jamie’s foot and I crouched underneath the table, trying to reach it. When I finally got it, Jamie’s hand trapped mine.

“What?” I whispered, freaking out.

“You okay?” He asked.

I’m okay baby, I’m okay. Stop looking at me with those damn eyes and I’ll be fine!

“Yes.”

“What are you two doing down there, exactly?” Jenny’s face appeared under the tablecloth.

“Nothing,” I replied, hastily returning to my chair.

Seated again, I quickly realized that Jamie’s long legs could easily reach mine. The problem was that he had realized it too. I trapped a wandering foot between both my legs and gave him a cheeky smile. This seemed enough to bring back his relaxed expression, and the tiny smile that gave life to the butterflies residing in my stomach made its appearance. The rest of the dinner passed uneventfully, with Lamb and Brian talking about the first Jacobite rising, asking us how much we knew and filling our poor brains with even more needless details. And Jamie’s foot a prisoner between my ankles.

After finishing dinner we moved to the living room, both adults with tumblers of whisky in hand. Claiming that we were entitled to a drink, both men laughed and served Jamie, Jenny, and me a good amount of whisky - we weren’t children anymore. We stayed up late that night, telling stories around the fireplace, talking about history and tradition, about the previous Fraser generations that made that house a home. A realization hit me then and warmed me to the bone, even more than the sparkling heat from the roaring fire and the alcohol. We weren’t fiction, created by Dickens for a Christmas story. We’d made our own gathering of family and friends, sharing moments around the fireplace and creating memories. The ‘nephew's house’ in the Christmas Carol was real and it was all of us, battered and broken on the edges, finding happiness in front of the fireplace in the old parlour of Lallybroch.

--

It was two o'clock in the morning when I changed into my grey and baby pink pyjamas, tired and slightly intoxicated. Spreading myself out on my bed, I rubbed my face on the stark white pillow with the embroidered light blue flowers. The soft fabric filled my nostrils with the fresh scent of a conditioner most likely named ‘summer breeze’, and I smiled contentedly.

I had just closed my eyes, my body secured under the heavy blankets, when I heard a soft knock on my door. With a grunt I went got of bed and padded to the door, opening it just a bit to see two blue eyes glinting under the hallway light.

“Ye forgot something, Sassenach.” Jamie whispered opening the door a bit more.

“What?”

“My goodnight kiss.”

I smiled and stood on tiptoes to crush my lips to his adorable pout.

“Better?” I asked, biting my lip to stop from kissing him again.

“Aye, much better.” Jamie said, his tongue running across his bottom lip, collecting traces of me. “I’ll leave now, because I swear, Sassenach, ye’re temptation itself hidden in a curly wigged angel’s face.”

“Am I?” I asked and with a hand on the nape of his neck I lowered his face to mine so I could catch the aforementioned bottom lip between my teeth.

Someone cleared his throat from the top of the stairs and I broke the kiss, goggling at Brian Fraser, who was chuckling to himself.

Oh God.

My startled face conveyed more information to Jamie than I could ever transfer with words and his wide eyes were the last thing I saw before closing the door in his face.

Five minutes later, when my heart found its normal rhythm again, I texted him.

Sassenach (the ridiculous human being had changed my name in the messenger app): Sorry for shutting the door in your face but NKJFNWEJFWJKFN

Jamie: Dinna fash, Sassenach. I think we entertained my Da just fine.

Sassenach: You know what’s the worst part, right?

Jamie: ???

Sassenach: He and Lamb together. I don’t even want to think about it!

Jamie: hahahaha

Mmmm… Options…Name… Change nickname… Scot.

Scot: WHAT? I’m the Scot, now?

Sassenach: Aye!

Scot: I’d rather you’d change that to something sappy, like ‘my one and only love’.

Sassenach: Goodnight, my one and only Scot!

Scot: Sweet dreams, my Sassenach.

Sassenach: Sweet dreams are made of these.

Scot: Who am I to disagree?

Sassenach: I traveled the world and the seven seas.

Scot: Everybody’s looking for something.

Scot: I found what I was looking for.

Sassenach: Saaaaaaappy

Sassenach: I found it, too.

With a smile, I fixed a cocoon of blankets around me and slept in that room, in that house deep in the Highlands that felt like home.

287 notes · View notes

are you going to just stand there?

Five times Vice Principal Potter showed up in Miss Evans’ doorway & one time she showed up in his.

Happy birthday @hypergalacticcannibalism can’t believe i finished this IN TIME for your actual birthday BUT HERE I AM with this fic.

Read it on AO3 and FF

i.

Miss Evans is basically every student’s favorite teacher at school. It’s a well known fact by all of the incoming kindergarteners that Miss Evans will be the bestest teacher ever and always has a bowl of candy in her drawer in case you’re missing home.

“Miss Evans?”

“Yes, Charlie?” She’s surprised by his tears because it’s already October and she has yet to see the younger Weasley show any sign of anxiety but he’s standing in front of her with tears in his eyes suddenly. “What’s wrong?”

As his lower lip quivered, she placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him a little closer. “I-” He choked on his sob and she smoothed down a strand of his hair before smiling down at him. “It’s okay, take your time. Do you want to sit inside during recess?” The little boy nodded and settled down in the beanie bag next to her desk.

“Everything alright, Miss Evans?” The voice surprised her as she looked up to see the new vice principal standing in her doorway. His lanky build filled the opening and as his hand flew to his hair, she noticed the way that his unruly curls fell against the tan skin on his forehead just so. He had taken a more hands-on approach to being an administrator, popping in at random times just to ensure things were running smoothly. It was already better than Principal Umbridge, who was really a useless piece of crap burning on a hot day, or so said Lily when she and Miss McKinnon had a few drinks and would get a little rowdy on Friday nights at the bar.

“Yes, just having a little bit of a hard day, I think. Charlie here is going to spend some time with me just reading while everyone goes out to play.” She smiled sincerely at James while letting Charlie grab a picture book from the small shelving unit on the side of her desk and offered him a snack from the small basket in the bottom drawer of her desk. Lily hadn’t noticed that James was stepping into the classroom and crouched down beside Charlie. “Hey, bud. I think we met before. Two weeks ago during recess, right?” Charlie’s nod confirmed that James was correct in recognizing him. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” At the shrug of Charlie’s shoulders, James shot a small smile and shrug Lily’s way.

“That’s okay if you’re not ready to talk about it. I was wondering if you’d like to have lunch in my office with me and your brother. I can see if Bill would be cool with having a special lunch earlier than normal, just the three of us. What do you say? Maybe then we can talk about what’s wrong?” James’ grin grew as Charlie nodded and was able to calm his tears. “As long as that’s alright with Miss Evans, that is.” He shot her a wink and Lily let out a soft sigh.

“I suppose it sort of has to be, at this point.” Normally she would have been annoyed that someone was taking over her comforting moment to connect with her students, and was changing up the rules of her classroom, but it was obvious how much James cared about Charlie despite the minimal interactions they may have had, and it made her much more accepting of the situation. Lily shot James a genuine smile as he lifted his gaze to meet hers.

She could let it go this one time.

ii.

“Hey, Miss Evans, can I see you for a minute?”

James’ voice was a surprise to Lily’s as he appeared in her doorway.

“Hey, call me Lily when there’s no children around, please.” She smiled as she beckoned him in and he was able to shut the door.

“Well, then I insist you call me James.” His smile only brightened as he took a seat on top of one of the kindergartener’s desks, knowing there was no way he was fitting in one of the tiny chairs. “I just wanted to come and see how things were going.”

Lily was surprised by this. Principal Umbridge never made it a habit to check in on her teachers, especially when she was the Vice Principal. She had considered herself the dean of discipline and was constantly pulling children out of class for “poor behaviors,” and this often resulted in traumatized children feeling targeted for struggling in class when really they just needed extra support. She had attempted to pull one of Lily’s students once, and when she refused the removal of the student, it had started a power struggle between the two women. Principal Umbridge had made it a point to be Lily’s enemy ever since.

“Principal Umbridge wanted me to come in here and talk to you about… um…” James trailed off and Lily’s eyebrows furrowed together as his cheeks grew increasingly pinker. “Spit it out, James.” She huffed, already annoyed that James was now going to be scolding her too.

“Well, she says that some of the things you wear could be considered.. um... inappropriate for a kindergarten teacher. That maybe your outfits should be a little less adult friendly and a little more k-kid friendly.” He stuttered over his words, refusing to actually look at her when presenting her with this suggestion .

“Oh, is that so?” She asked, raising her left eyebrow as she went to stand in front of James. Lily waited until his chin lifted so he was looking at her, and she noted the slight fear in his eyes. “Does my wardrobe bother you at all, Mr. Potter?” Lily’s formal use of his name caused him to gulp and he shook his head.

“N-no. I- I think you look just fine. More than fine. Beautiful, actually. Well, not beautiful. I mean, yes, beautiful. But in a totally professional way. An appropriate way. I think nothing is wrong with how you dress. Principal Umbridge just asked me t0-” James trailed off when he realized that Lily was giggling.

“It’s okay, James. I know Umbridge has it out for me. She does this at least twice a year. McGonagall used to just bring me a packet of biscuits and chat while we had my semesterly talking to . It’s too bad she got promoted to superintendent. We could use her level-headedness around here.” Lily let out a sigh as she sank back into the chair behind her metal desk, putting her feet up on the wooden top of it so that her skirt hung a little lower on her thighs.

James just grinned and stood up, shaking his head as he walked out.

iii.

Lily had stepped away from the gymnasium/cafeteria where most of the teachers were. It had grown incredibly stifling and she just needed some space. Lily had somehow ended up back in her classroom and she was enjoying the cool air that was coming in through the window she had cracked open upon entering. Settling in on the reading rug, Lily’s legs kicked out in front of her so that the red skirt she wore splayed across the grey carpet. Holding a glass of spiked eggnog, the redhead let her eyes fall shut for just a moment while nibbling on a sugar cookie shaped like a Christmas tree.

“Everything alright in here?” The deep voice scared her so much that the eggnog sloshed onto her hand a bit and Lily’s cheeks went pink at being caught hiding out from everyone. “Mind if I join you?”

James didn’t wait for a response as he sauntered over towards the rug, sliding down beside her so that his legs also lay out in front of him. His were much longer than hers, and she appreciated his height for the first time since they had truly met while purchasing a snack in the teacher’s lounge the day before school started for the students.

“Penny for your thoughts?” He asked, grinning down at her.

“Just thinking about how even that Santa hat can’t hide those curls of yours.” Lily smirked as she made him blush and duck his head.

“Liiiiiiily.” He whined, nudging her with his elbow before he laughed softly. “I can’t control it!” James was growing defensive and she couldn’t control the giggles that fell from her lips. She knew she had too much eggnog before coming down here, and being alone with her boss while slightly tipsy was a dangerous matter. Especially a boss who was looking incredibly cute with his button down sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the hat tilted on the top of his head.

Lily must have been staring for too long because James cleared his throat and she smoothed down her skirt quickly, avoiding his gaze.

“It’s getting cold in here. We should probably head back to the party. Free eggnog can’t last for much longer.” She stood without a warning, watching as James did so as well. He locked up the window for her and then led her through the doorway, his hand burning on the middle of her lower back throughout the walk.

iv.

Lily was looking at her classroom, all decorated with hearts in various shades of red and pink. She had on her pink cardigan with a cream colored skirt that twirled whenever she spun and for some reason she was really looking forward to Valentine’s Day this year. All of the kids had been “gossiping” with her about what kind of cards they were going to get for their friends, and she knew of at least two students who had crushes on other students. Lily had just finished putting out the Valentine’s she gave her own students each year with a small lollipop attached at the corner of the heart-shaped card when she heard a slight cough coming from the doorway. She smiled pleasantly at the sight of James, wearing gray slacks with a white shirt and a bright pink tie covered in hearts.

“Looking quite festive in here, Miss Evans! In fact, I think Cupid may find himself a new home in your classroom, it looks so ready for Valentine’s Day.” James’ teasing caused her to flush, though she smoothed her skirt down and offered up a shrug in response while turning to scan her classroom.

“I like the students to feel excited for the holidays. You haven’t even seen my Valentine’s Day lesson planning.” She had constructed a spelling word list along with math worksheets and art projects, all designed to be Valentine’s themed. “I think I am the leader of this school when it comes to the holiday spirit.” Lily grinned as she settled down at her desk, leaning back in her chair Godfather-style as she glanced up at James. His cheeks brightened and he stepped into the classroom, peeking at one of the cards on a student’s desk before smiling at her again.

“Sorry for the teasing. I appreciate the festivity. I noticed that nobody around here really has that passion anymore, so I’m glad to see at least one teacher does. I’m sure the kids are going to love it.” He sounded sincere as he settled into the beanbag chair beside her desk, his lanky limbs not quite fitting on the cushion properly. Her gaze focused back on him as he adjusted himself and then jumped up again, causing Lily to let out a small yelp in surprise.

“Sorry, sorry. Just forgot. I need to give you something.” As he reached into his pocket, she was afraid she was about to get her pink slip (and on Valentine’s Day no less) meaning she’d have to bid for her job, again and she knew she’d get it but just the stress of having to go through the bid process every year was frightening and she was incredibly grateful that Umbridge didn’t have hiring and firing power.

“Here. Happy Valentine’s Day, Evans.” In James’ palm lay a small Disney princess card in her hand. She took it and noticed that it had Ariel on it, and she couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face as she realized he probably was trying to be cute, identifying that they both had red hair. She licked her lips and opened it up, reading the scratchy scrawl on the inside in tiny lettering.

“Be my Valentine, Evans? Love, James.” Above his handwriting were the words So glad you’re a part of my world printed in big teal lettering. She grinned up at him and nodded. “I happily accept your proposal, Valentine.” Lily winked and James’ cheeks burned a red almost as bright as the mermaid’s hair.

“Great, so that means you’re required to stop by my office for lunch. I’ll order us something great from that Greek place you always mention.” He told her as he started to back towards her door.

“Perfect! It’s a date.” Lily confirmed, to which James nodded in response and out of the corner of her eye, Lily noticed him stumble over a small chair by the door before he left Lily alone with her thoughts.

v.

Lily had just hugged the last of her kindergarteners goodbye, saying a special farewell to Charlie, who had made immense progress when it came to his math over the year. This was always a hard time for teachers. It was a time to rejoice and prepare for a few months off with no children to really stress over, but it was also a sad time. She was struggling to hold back tears as she took a turn and just stared at the empty classroom. She was being forced to remove all of her decorations for the summer so that they could repaint and retile the floors. All of her student’s things were gone, and any reminders of this school year would be shoved into a storage box. She had never felt so nostalgic before, and she knew that this year’s students held a special place in her heart.

“Alright, Evans?” James’ voice sounded concerned as he suddenly appeared in the doorway to the classroom. She nodded and let out a little sigh before stepping towards him. “How do you always seem to know just when I need some form of human contact?” Lily tried to joke, but she found it to be uncanny. It was as if James just knew when she needed the help.

His hands rested lightly on her shoulders as she let her eyes close, trying to stop any more tears from forming. “It’s okay.” He murmured, letting a hand slip down her arm so that he could lace their fingers together, giving her fingers a slight squeeze. “You’ll get new rascals next year, and you’ll get to mold them into awesome human beings because it’s what you’re great at.” James’ voice sounded so genuine it just made her want to cry more. He was being so kind and thoughtful, and his words meant the world to her.

When Lily peeked up at him from beneath her lashes, James’ gaze seemed a bit softer than usual. Without thinking, his hand slid up to cup the back of her neck, and she could feel his warm breath across her cheeks. “Lily, I-” His words were cut off as she leaned up the rest of the way, capturing his mouth in a soft kiss. Lily wasn’t entirely sure where the desire to do so had come from, but she realized that she had been thinking about doing so for quite some time, and she didn’t want to wait any longer.

After pulling back, the weight of what Lily had done was weighing her down, and she felt like she was going to be sick. She had just kissed her boss. She was so going to be fired. She’d have to work at the school across town, doubling her commute. They definitely didn’t have as nice of classrooms, and she heard all of the administrative time were monsters, but she could make do. Lily could feel her heart pounding in her chest and James must have finally noticed the fearful look on her features because he chuckled softly before lifting up her chin using his thumb and forefinger.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to go for dinner sometime, but I think that I got my answer.” James’ face donned a cocky smirk, but his voice sounded a bit nervous, despite the fact that Lily had just kissed him .

“I think dinner could be arranged.”

vi.

Lily appeared in the doorway and grinned as she watched her husband work. His head was bent over his desk, completely oblivious to his visitors. She knew that the school year wouldn’t be starting for another month, and James technically didn’t start getting paid again until next week, but his passion for his students was what drew her in, and it was something she still found endearing, even after all their time together.

“Ahem, Mister Potter? I have a dilemma I need solving.” She smiled as he looked up, hand midway through his hair, a crooked grin on his face.

“Yes, Miss Evans? Come in and take a seat, I’m happy to help you.” She sauntered over to the cushioned chair opposite the oak desk and slowly lowered herself into the seat.

“The thing is I’m not entirely sure what the problem is. I just know that it was very cold and lonely at home, and I decided that Harry and I simply had to come for a visit. Maybe you know how to fix the problem?” As Lily spoke, James’ grin turned into a smirk and he made his way around the desk, leaning against it while crossing his legs. “I think I may have the solution.”

Moments later, James was taking the baby bundle from her arms, pressing a gentle kiss to Harry’s smooth forehead before letting his eyes meet hers. “Much better.” She reassured him, standing again so that she could drop a kiss to Harry’s cheek and hold onto the hand that had peeked out from the folds of the baby blanket wrapped around his small body. “I’m so proud of you.” She whispered, smiling as his free arm wrapped around her waist so that he could tuck two of his favorite people as close to him as possible. James dropped a kiss to her temple and let out a soft hum of contentment.

“You know you’re not supposed to be out of bed for another week.” He scolded her, though it was hard to look stern when he was holding his newborn son in the middle of his office, feeling more pride than he ever would have imagined.

“Harry and I wanted to be the first ones to say congratulations to the new principal. We hear he’s pretty spectacular.” Lily’s grin grew as she watched her husband’s cheeks turn pink. Even with the cocky attitude he could have at times, it was always fun to watch him grow flustered because of her. She knew that his cockiness was only an act, and that when it came down to it, he was still just that silly boy she met in the teacher’s lounge trying to get a soda unstuck from the vending machine on his first day. James just winked at her and pressed a kiss to her lips before speaking.

“What can I say? I work with some really great teachers.”

i.

Miss Evans is basically every student’s favorite teacher at school. It’s a well known fact by all of the incoming kindergarteners that Miss Evans will be the bestest teacher ever and always has a bowl of candy in her drawer in case you’re missing home.

“Miss Evans?”

“Yes, Charlie?” She’s surprised by his tears because it’s already October and she has yet to see the younger Weasley show any sign of anxiety but he’s standing in front of her with tears in his eyes suddenly. “What’s wrong?”

As his lower lip quivered, she placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him a little closer. “I-” He choked on his sob and she smoothed down a strand of his hair before smiling down at him. “It’s okay, take your time. Do you want to sit inside during recess?” The little boy nodded and settled down in the beanie bag next to her desk.

“Everything alright, Miss Evans?” The voice surprised her as she looked up to see the new vice principal standing in her doorway. His lanky build filled the opening and as his hand flew to his hair, she noticed the way that his unruly curls fell against the tan skin on his forehead just so. He had taken a more hands-on approach to being an administrator, popping in at random times just to ensure things were running smoothly. It was already better than Principal Umbridge, who was really a useless piece of crap burning on a hot day, or so said Lily when she and Miss McKinnon had a few drinks and would get a little rowdy on Friday nights at the bar.

“Yes, just having a little bit of a hard day, I think. Charlie here is going to spend some time with me just reading while everyone goes out to play.” She smiled sincerely at James while letting Charlie grab a picture book from the small shelving unit on the side of her desk and offered him a snack from the small basket in the bottom drawer of her desk. Lily hadn’t noticed that James was stepping into the classroom and crouched down beside Charlie. “Hey, bud. I think we met before. Two weeks ago during recess, right?” Charlie’s nod confirmed that James was correct in recognizing him. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” At the shrug of Charlie’s shoulders, James shot a small smile and shrug Lily’s way.

“That’s okay if you’re not ready to talk about it. I was wondering if you’d like to have lunch in my office with me and your brother. I can see if Bill would be cool with having a special lunch earlier than normal, just the three of us. What do you say? Maybe then we can talk about what’s wrong?” James’ grin grew as Charlie nodded and was able to calm his tears. “As long as that’s alright with Miss Evans, that is.” He shot her a wink and Lily let out a soft sigh.

“I suppose it sort of has to be, at this point.” Normally she would have been annoyed that someone was taking over her comforting moment to connect with her students, and was changing up the rules of her classroom, but it was obvious how much James cared about Charlie despite the minimal interactions they may have had, and it made her much more accepting of the situation. Lily shot James a genuine smile as he lifted his gaze to meet hers.

She could let it go this one time.

ii.

“Hey, Miss Evans, can I see you for a minute?”

James’ voice was a surprise to Lily’s as he appeared in her doorway.

“Hey, call me Lily when there’s no children around, please.” She smiled as she beckoned him in and he was able to shut the door.

“Well, then I insist you call me James.” His smile only brightened as he took a seat on top of one of the kindergartener’s desks, knowing there was no way he was fitting in one of the tiny chairs. “I just wanted to come and see how things were going.”

Lily was surprised by this. Principal Umbridge never made it a habit to check in on her teachers, especially when she was the Vice Principal. She had considered herself the dean of discipline and was constantly pulling children out of class for “poor behaviors,” and this often resulted in traumatized children feeling targeted for struggling in class when really they just needed extra support. She had attempted to pull one of Lily’s students once, and when she refused the removal of the student, it had started a power struggle between the two women. Principal Umbridge had made it a point to be Lily’s enemy ever since.

“Principal Umbridge wanted me to come in here and talk to you about… um…” James trailed off and Lily’s eyebrows furrowed together as his cheeks grew increasingly pinker. “Spit it out, James.” She huffed, already annoyed that James was now going to be scolding her too.

“Well, she says that some of the things you wear could be considered.. um... inappropriate for a kindergarten teacher. That maybe your outfits should be a little less adult friendly and a little more k-kid friendly.” He stuttered over his words, refusing to actually look at her when presenting her with this suggestion.

“Oh, is that so?” She asked, raising her left eyebrow as she went to stand in front of James. Lily waited until his chin lifted so he was looking at her, and she noted the slight fear in his eyes. “Does my wardrobe bother you at all, Mr. Potter?” Lily’s formal use of his name caused him to gulp and he shook his head.

“N-no. I- I think you look just fine. More than fine. Beautiful, actually. Well, not beautiful. I mean, yes, beautiful. But in a totally professional way. An appropriate way. I think nothing is wrong with how you dress. Principal Umbridge just asked me t0-” James trailed off when he realized that Lily was giggling.

“It’s okay, James. I know Umbridge has it out for me. She does this at least twice a year. McGonagall used to just bring me a packet of biscuits and chat while we had my semesterly talking to. It’s too bad she got promoted to superintendent. We could use her level-headedness around here.” Lily let out a sigh as she sank back into the chair behind her metal desk, putting her feet up on the wooden top of it so that her skirt hung a little lower on her thighs.

James just grinned and stood up, shaking his head as he walked out.

iii.

Lily had stepped away from the gymnasium/cafeteria where most of the teachers were. It had grown incredibly stifling and she just needed some space. Lily had somehow ended up back in her classroom and she was enjoying the cool air that was coming in through the window she had cracked open upon entering. Settling in on the reading rug, Lily’s legs kicked out in front of her so that the red skirt she wore splayed across the grey carpet. Holding a glass of spiked eggnog, the redhead let her eyes fall shut for just a moment while nibbling on a sugar cookie shaped like a Christmas tree.

“Everything alright in here?” The deep voice scared her so much that the eggnog sloshed onto her hand a bit and Lily’s cheeks went pink at being caught hiding out from everyone. “Mind if I join you?”

James didn’t wait for a response as he sauntered over towards the rug, sliding down beside her so that his legs also lay out in front of him. His were much longer than hers, and she appreciated his height for the first time since they had truly met while purchasing a snack in the teacher’s lounge the day before school started for the students.

“Penny for your thoughts?” He asked, grinning down at her.

“Just thinking about how even that Santa hat can’t hide those curls of yours.” Lily smirked as she made him blush and duck his head.

“Liiiiiiily.” He whined, nudging her with his elbow before he laughed softly. “I can’t control it!” James was growing defensive and she couldn’t control the giggles that fell from her lips. She knew she had too much eggnog before coming down here, and being alone with her boss while slightly tipsy was a dangerous matter. Especially a boss who was looking incredibly cute with his button down sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the hat tilted on the top of his head.

Lily must have been staring for too long because James cleared his throat and she smoothed down her skirt quickly, avoiding his gaze.

“It’s getting cold in here. We should probably head back to the party. Free eggnog can’t last for much longer.” She stood without a warning, watching as James did so as well. He locked up the window for her and then led her through the doorway, his hand burning on the middle of her lower back throughout the walk.

iv.

Lily was looking at her classroom, all decorated with hearts in various shades of red and pink. She had on her pink cardigan with a cream colored skirt that twirled whenever she spun and for some reason she was really looking forward to Valentine’s Day this year. All of the kids had been “gossiping” with her about what kind of cards they were going to get for their friends, and she knew of at least two students who had crushes on other students. Lily had just finished putting out the Valentine’s she gave her own students each year with a small lollipop attached at the corner of the heart-shaped card when she heard a slight cough coming from the doorway. She smiled pleasantly at the sight of James, wearing gray slacks with a white shirt and a bright pink tie covered in hearts.

“Looking quite festive in here, Miss Evans! In fact, I think Cupid may find himself a new home in your classroom, it looks so ready for Valentine’s Day.” James’ teasing caused her to flush, though she smoothed her skirt down and offered up a shrug in response while turning to scan her classroom.

“I like the students to feel excited for the holidays. You haven’t even seen my Valentine’s Day lesson planning.” She had constructed a spelling word list along with math worksheets and art projects, all designed to be Valentine’s themed. “I think I am the leader of this school when it comes to the holiday spirit.” Lily grinned as she settled down at her desk, leaning back in her chair Godfather-style as she glanced up at James. His cheeks brightened and he stepped into the classroom, peeking at one of the cards on a student’s desk before smiling at her again.

“Sorry for the teasing. I appreciate the festivity. I noticed that nobody around here really has that passion anymore, so I’m glad to see at least one teacher does. I’m sure the kids are going to love it.” He sounded sincere as he settled into the beanbag chair beside her desk, his lanky limbs not quite fitting on the cushion properly. Her gaze focused back on him as he adjusted himself and then jumped up again, causing Lily to let out a small yelp in surprise.

“Sorry, sorry. Just forgot. I need to give you something.” As he reached into his pocket, she was afraid she was about to get her pink slip (and on Valentine’s Day no less) meaning she’d have to bid for her job, again and she knew she’d get it but just the stress of having to go through the bid process every year was frightening and she was incredibly grateful that Umbridge didn’t have hiring and firing power.

“Here. Happy Valentine’s Day, Evans.” In James’ palm lay a small Disney princess card in her hand. She took it and noticed that it had Ariel on it, and she couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face as she realized he probably was trying to be cute, identifying that they both had red hair. She licked her lips and opened it up, reading the scratchy scrawl on the inside in tiny lettering.

“Be my Valentine, Evans? Love, James.” Above his handwriting were the words So glad you’re a part of my world printed in big teal lettering. She grinned up at him and nodded. “I happily accept your proposal, Valentine.” Lily winked and James’ cheeks burned a red almost as bright as the mermaid’s hair.

“Great, so that means you’re required to stop by my office for lunch. I’ll order us something great from that Greek place you always mention.” He told her as he started to back towards her door.

“Perfect! It’s a date.” Lily confirmed, to which James nodded in response and out of the corner of her eye, Lily noticed him stumble over a small chair by the door before he left Lily alone with her thoughts.

v.

Lily had just hugged the last of her kindergarteners goodbye, saying a special farewell to Charlie, who had made immense progress when it came to his math over the year. This was always a hard time for teachers. It was a time to rejoice and prepare for a few months off with no children to really stress over, but it was also a sad time. She was struggling to hold back tears as she took a turn and just stared at the empty classroom. She was being forced to remove all of her decorations for the summer so that they could repaint and retile the floors. All of her student’s things were gone, and any reminders of this school year would be shoved into a storage box. She had never felt so nostalgic before, and she knew that this year’s students held a special place in her heart.

“Alright, Evans?” James’ voice sounded concerned as he suddenly appeared in the doorway to the classroom. She nodded and let out a little sigh before stepping towards him. “How do you always seem to know just when I need some form of human contact?” Lily tried to joke, but she found it to be uncanny. It was as if James just knew when she needed the help.

His hands rested lightly on her shoulders as she let her eyes close, trying to stop anymore tears from forming. “It’s okay.” He murmured, letting a hand slip down her arm so that he could lace their fingers together, giving her fingers a slight squeeze. “You’ll get new rascals next year, and you’ll get to mold them into awesome human beings because it’s what you’re great at.” James’ voice sounded so genuine it just made her want to cry more. He was being so kind and thoughtful, and his words meant the world to her.

When Lily peeked up at him from beneath her lashes, James’ gaze seemed a bit softer than usual. Without thinking, his hand slid up to cup the back of her neck, and she could feel his warm breath across her cheeks. “Lily, I-” His words were cut off as she leaned up the rest of the way, capturing his mouth in a soft kiss. Lily wasn’t entirely sure where the desire to do so had come from, but she realized that she had been thinking about doing so for quite some time, and she didn’t want to wait any longer.

After pulling back, the weight of what Lily had done was weighing her down, and she felt like she was going to be sick. She had just kissed her boss. She was so going to be fired. She’d have to work at the school across town, doubling her commute. They definitely didn’t have as nice of classrooms, and she heard all of the administrative time were monsters, but she could make do. Lily could feel her heart pounding in her chest and James must have finally noticed the fearful look on her features because he chuckled softly before lifting up her chin using his thumb and forefinger.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to go for dinner sometime, but I think that I got my answer.” James’ face donned a cocky smirk, but his voice sounded a bit nervous, despite the fact that Lily had just kissed him.

“I think dinner could be arranged.”

vi.

Lily appeared in the doorway and grinned as she watched her husband work. His head was bent over his desk, completely oblivious to his visitors. She knew that the school year wouldn’t be starting for another month, and James technically didn’t start getting paid again until next week, but his passion for his students was what drew her in, and it was something she still found endearing, even after all their time together.

“Ahem, Mister Potter? I have a dilemma I need solving.” She smiled as he looked up, hand midway through his hair, a crooked grin on his face.

“Yes, Miss Evans? Come in and take a seat, I’m happy to help you.” She sauntered over to the cushioned chair opposite the oak desk and slowly lowered herself into the seat.

“The thing is I’m not entirely sure what the problem is. I just know that it was very cold and lonely at home, and I decided that Harry and I simply had to come for a visit. Maybe you know how to fix the problem?” As Lily spoke, James’ grin turned into a smirk and he made his way around the desk, leaning against it while crossing his legs. “I think I may have the solution.”

Moments later, James was taking the baby bundle from her arms, pressing a gentle kiss to Harry’s smooth forehead before letting his eyes meet hers. “Much better.” She reassured him, standing again so that she could drop a kiss to Harry’s cheek and hold onto the hand that had peeked out from the folds of the baby blanket wrapped around his small body. “I’m so proud of you.” She whispered, smiling as his free arm wrapped around her waist so that he could tuck two of his favorite people as close to him as possible. James dropped a kiss to her temple and let out a soft hum of contentment.

“You know you’re not supposed to be out of bed for another week.” He scolded her, though it was hard to look stern when he was holding his newborn son in the middle of his office, feeling more pride than he ever would have imagined.

“Harry and I wanted to be the first ones to say congratulations to the new principal. We hear he’s pretty spectacular.” Lily’s grin grew as she watched her husband’s cheeks turn pink. Even with the cocky attitude he could have at times, it was always fun to watch him grow flustered because of her. She knew that his cockiness was only an act, and that when it came down to it, he was still just that silly boy she met in the teacher’s lounge trying to get a soda unstuck from the vending machine on his first day. James just winked at her and pressed a kiss to her lips before speaking.

“What can I say? I work with some really great teachers.”

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Trinitas [2017 EDM Secret Santa]

“My place is with you, always.”

(This is my @edm-secret-santa gift for @finex09!Merry Christmas, dearest. You asked for Seb/Kav or the Justice pair as part of your preferences; howsbout a generous helping of both pairings baked in fluff flavoured fluff with a sprinkling of extra fluff on top y/n?)

There is in Paris a street called Boulevard Saint-Germain, lit up with silvery blues and bright shimmering golds late into the night as yet another Christmas dawns upon this high city. Not much is open at this hour – if business still needs doing, the Champs-Élysées is nearby for that purpose, its parallel glory laid out just across the Seine – but the street lies fresh-faced and cheery for all those who wish to walk along it. Never mind that most would prefer the home and hearth tonight. Some things in life are best appreciated at the fringes of it, ideally with a partner in crime at hand.

Sebastian Akchoté is undergoing one such experience tonight. His new scarf is snug around his throat and his cheeks are pink. He exhales white smoke into the air with one breath and inhales the grey of nicotine with the other. He is not alone. No one walks the streets for the streets during the daytime hours. In the chaotic bustle of daily life, it is easy to miss the structural beauty of this city, where avenues broaden into leisurely stretches and narrow winding paths lead to small-time pleasures. But the shops and bars are closed now, the street itself is there for the taking; for Christmas its whole length has been decorated thrice over, lamp-posts wound with speckles of golden light and themed artwork dotted along the pavement. There is no rush here, no demand, only decorations and the serene glimmer of the Seine ahead to excite the heart and for the eye to be delighted at.

"Isn't it beautiful," he murmurs. His companion reacts with surprise, unspoken but with his head visibly tilting in wonder. Sebastian is seldom this straightforward about anything. "you reckon this makes up for the family somewhat, Vinco?"

Vincent Belorgey barks out a laugh, the first in a good long while. Sebastian grins back and they hurry on their way. Call it an improvisation, what they decided to do tonight. Vincent was originally planning to host his entire family for Christmas, disappearing for up to a week as he likes to do in order to eat and drink and be merry, but his plans have fallen through spectacularly this year. His brother's away in a different country altogether, held up by checks and delays. His sister apparently has a 'headcold' of such extent that their mother has gone to look after her for the holidays, and of course all of them live away from Paris. Vincent hasn't had the news long enough to work out a way to be with any of them, so he'll have to do without, a fact that struck him hard: "For all my numerous faults, I'm a family man, and especially so for the holidays!" He'd lamented, several times, while his friend puffed nonchalantly away at his cigarette in the background. "They all know that. All that food in the fridge, what the hell am I going to do with it?"

"Can't it wait until the New Year?"

"Some of it, yes, but the other stuff's – ugh – themed," Vincent wrung his hands briefly, but then straightened up again, keeping precarious balance between concerned and overblown. "but forget the food, I wouldn't be this worried if I could make my way to somebody."

Sebastian tapped away the ash. "Any news from your brother?"

"He's fine. In a hotel the last time I checked. Comped. Everyone's all right, I just don't remember the last time we were apart."

Sebastian finds that hard to believe. He has no such tale to tell, as the twenty-fifth of December is not as meaningful to him as it might be for others; Christmas takes place then if he's in France, but if he doesn't want to make a fuss about it, he's got another coming up on the seventh of January. His plane tickets are booked for the New Year, anyway, that means more to him than either of those Christmases put together. This year he decided to pass on most of the festivities because he was – ‘get this’ – working, more interested in echoes and melodies and birdlike sips of muscatel wine than anybody else. Anybody else, but Vincent.

Not that he means anything deep by it. Probably not. Vincent's a friend. No reason Sebastian can't spare a few hours to keep him company. He provided initial sympathy while Vincent mourned his situation and didn't shoot it down when he proposed they go for a midnight walk. At first he was unsure, but two hours in, this is shaping up to be the most relaxed Christmas he's ever known. Yes, they have no destination, and the weather might be so cold that his phone battery straight up died on him. But Vincent lent him his phone to keep, he's good company, and he just likes it when the older man smiles and sweeps back his silver windmussed hair as if to restore order into his world. It's better if Sebastian's the only one who can see it, and even more so if he's the one to inspire such gestures. Vincent's gladness has come to correlate directly with Sebastian's level of satisfaction with life.

"What time is it, Seb?"

"Eleven forty-three. Do you think we might run across someone we know?"

It's not that far-fetched a question. Vincent considers it seriously. "I doubt it. Even if we did, it'd have to be later, wouldn't it?" His phone chimes; a new email. Sebastian takes a peek first and snickers out loud. "Providing no one else's plans fell apart, I can't think of what they'd be – you're laughing. I never see you laugh. What is it?"

Sebastian holds out Vincent's phone, not to hand over, but only to look. "Here. Check this out."

"Eh?"

He's not even trying to hold back his smirk. "It's the adopted son."

A flash of sheer terror and confusion passes over Vincent's face before he gets it. "Oh, what does he want," he grumbles, but it's in high spirits; he's more chastising Sebastian for the reference, and playfully at that. "he and Louis went abroad for the holidays, no? What are they doing sending emails at this hour?"

"Well-wishes. Are you complaining?"

"Hell no. What does he say?"

Sebastian scrolls down. (His breath catches in his throat, registering that Gesaffelstein has worked his name into the email header as well as Vincent's, but he doesn't mention this fact.) "... It's not just the two of them, but the whole Bromance crew, he says. According to him, they're just glad they planned ahead to make plenty of time for themselves. ("Clever," Vincent nods, looking oddly envious.) They're all at a party now. There's a photo. Louis seems drunk. I don't know where Mike's undershirt has gone, and I doubt he knows, either. There's a cat. Hell. That's right. A cat. No word on whose it is. Merry Christmas and a most wonderful New Year to you, he says."

"Beautiful. What colour is the cat?"

"Mackerel tabby."

Vincent is delighted. He leans over to peer at the photo, smiling down at the happy pair and the cat that looks very much like his own. "He's a rascal, that Mike; really, both of them are. But I'm glad someone's remembered me at this hour. Where are they now exactly, did he mention the place?"

They're walking past a particularly well-lit sculpture. Sebastian shields the phone screen with a hand. "Bernkastel-Kues."

"Gesundheit. Where?"

"I just said." Vincent offers a cheeky grin. If Sebastian is in any way charmed, he's still too deadpan to let on. "He must be living it up there, Germany's lovely in winter."

Then, without warning: the warm touch of Vincent's hand upon his, followed by the linking of their fingers. Sebastian looks up and comes face to face with a knowing smile. "Shall we go together next year?" Vincent offers softly, tracing his thumb over Sebastian's own.

Oh.

Sebastian thinks his pulse skipped a beat.

This is not a new subject between them. They're very close. Sebastian's as aloof as they come, but he has always accepted the other's open affections with an attitude beyond simply putting up with him. Vincent's hugged him – he's kissed him – they've been teased endlessly (but always kindly) for their closeness all those years they've known one another. It's no coincidence that Gesaffelstein guessed, and rightly at that, that he and Vincent would be spending Christmas together. Why, it was only last month that Vincent himself suggested that maybe they could give it a try – nothing official, just to see where it might go, he said – and though Sebastian hasn't dwelt on the question since, he never actually said no to Vincent at the time. It just dawns on him then that all he'd offered was a shrug and a faintly thoughtful look; maybe this is the reminder. That is, if he didn't outright hurt Vincent back then and just never realized it until now.

The thought makes him anxious and deflective. "I thought you were a family man when it comes to the holidays."

"I am."

"Is there a leap of logic I needs must make here, Vincent?"

"I'd like us to go together, not that we have to go full speed ahead."

The chime of the bells of Notre-Dame echo across the river. Sebastian realizes that midnight's upon them, and is suddenly mortified down to the tips of his toes; it's officially Christmas and they're spending those precious first few minutes on this. He didn't want to argue – he wanted to give Vincent his well-wishes, and maybe affection then if he wanted- "If... if you're playing games, I'm not interested."

"And not because I'm older, just a friend, or a man?"

Sebastian splutters in shock, but there's no real retort to be made. "Oh, Seb," the older man laughs quietly, squeezing his hand once before he lets go. "I assure you I'm not playing games, but I'm not demanding that you let me sweep you off your feet, either. I should be thanking you twice over for spending time with me tonight; you didn't have to, but you did. And," he leans down, gentle-voiced amidst the last of the bells, brown eyes soothing blue. "I want you to know that you do more than enough for me, Sebastian, as you already are. Friend or brother, or more than that, you're family. You are that and dearly precious to me before anything else we might become."

"..."

"I would never trade that for a shadow of smoke."

I like you too much, is the conclusion that hangs suspended between them, but Vincent does not voice it out loud. He knows Sebastian is not one for excess emotion, not ones he has to wade through in public anyway; Vincent must consider a thanks appropriate, a little flirting acceptable, but that anything else needs pulling back. "Jardin du Luxembourg isn't far from here, it must be a pretty sight right now," he says, and offers his arm, beaming. "Monsieur."

Sebastian takes him up on it. He's warm, scented sweet, a gentleman for his best friend only. Along the way he shyly leans his head against Vincent's arm.

He seems to understand.

-----

There is in hell a place called Maleborge, made of stone the colour of iron like the circle that encloses it. Or so it's said, anyway, within the play of someone else's imagination - exactly the kind that should not be running wild in Gaspard Augé's mind as he stands at the back of this church. The theology brought up this chain of thought, his current situation led him to pursue it; Gaspard's not so much concerned with the thought of frauds and thieves and simoniacs as he can foresee something he might need to do in the near future. He sneaks a glance next to him. Xavier's eyes are closed, lips moving faintly with the hymn. His eyelids are damp and ghastly pale and there's no question that he finds the hymn comforting because it's familiar, because he need not work hard to follow it, because he's too unwell to do much else.

Né si stancò d'avermi a sé distretto. So Virgil to Dante. As he would Xavier.

How could he possibly not oblige this man, is the question.

Gaspard recalls the process through which they ended up here. For the past several years their families have gotten together for the holidays. But this year, Xavier has fallen sick with a cold, and will not be better for Christmas; he requested a quiet couple of days, and Gaspard decided to follow suit, despite the other's protests that it was his God-given right to go and celebrate with his family. "Not even for dinner and presents?" He'd asked through a fit of coughing. "Gaspard, I'll be asleep. It really is fine. Just bring me all of mine to open when I'm better."

"And that's where the catch is, trying to drag the entire pile with me onto the Métro," Gaspard replied dryly, but tucked Xavier in with care all the same. "my place is with you, always. Get some sleep. I'll wake you closer to evening."

"Nnh."

He didn't say anything more, just rolled over with his back facing Gaspard. His response was to ruffle his hair, concerned. Xavier's always been a good sleeper, especially in response to stress. And upon his waking, his guilt has worked as a moving force upon him. Despite his illness, and despite Gaspard's protests, Xavier insisted that they attend midnight Mass; it's tradition for both of them, starting at eleven at the Saint-Sulpice, and wild horses couldn't stop Xavier when he really has his mind set on something.

So Gaspard wrapped him up extra tight and off they went. Halfway to the church Xavier stopped against a wall, his eyes glazed with fever, and pressed his forehead against frozen brick. Even in present time he stands bent over, too much heat and weight upon his head; the twinge Gaspard feels in his heart is that of the old present, Xavier's pain wounding him now as clearly as it did back then.

"Xavier. Xavier, are you all right?"

Ah, yes. He can see him all over again, panting out a breath, eyes bright and cheeks far too pink for Gaspard's comfort. "I'm fine," he'd said, and he'd say it now if Gaspard nudged him and asked. "go, I'm more than strong enough."

Repeat question. How could he possibly not oblige this man?

"Go in the peace of Christ, thanks be to God!"

And then it's all over. The whole thing hasn't taken longer than an hour. The good thing about Mass as a tradition is that there are no surprises. Not too far in the distance, their Lady of Paris rings her bells, and the congregation buzzes with their requisite Joyeux Noëls. Xavier lingers as the others file out; Gaspard squeezes his arm as if to affirm that he was, indeed, more than strong enough. A shadow of a smile crosses Xavier's mouth like he's pleased. Together they wait, and they are the last people to leave, with Xavier leaning with catlike bliss against the first blast of icy Christmas air.

"Ahhh," he exclaims, and breathes in so deeply it looks like it'd hurt. When he regards Gaspard, however, he's bright-eyed in the good way. "do you know something, my dear fellow, I'm glad we went; I feel ready for the New Year already, like I'm done proving myself for this one. What do you want to do now?"

Good for him. Gaspard decides not to mention that this is the most anxious Christmas he's ever had; he's happy if his friend is. "I was about to ask you the same," he says quietly, fastening the last button on the other's coat. Xavier blinks at him, unsure whether to brush him off or accept. "is there something else you'd like to do, or would you like to go home?"

Xavier shakes his head. Gaspard doesn't protest, but places the back of his hand against the other's forehead, feeling for himself what the other was unable to voice all along: Xavier's just too warm for comfort. Forget soup and radiators and blankets. He's reached the stage where he needs to cool his body, and this weather's perfect for the purpose, no matter how he might answer for it later. In the absence of a destination he takes Xavier off the beaten path and proposes that they walk around the Saint-Sulpice, long enough to let the crowd clear, and this suggestion is accepted.

Before they go, though, he'd like to add his own blessings to the holiday. He doesn't have an excuse, aside from that he's relieved the other man's all right, and that Xavier isn't the only one who can be strong and bold. It's not new. He'll understand. "Wait," he calls, and beckons Xavier back towards the entrance; before any inquiry can be thrown in his direction, he dips his finger in the stoup again and crosses Xavier in his stead. "I feel like you could do with a second round," he explains as Xavier stares at him; a drop of holy water lingers on his forehead, beaded delicately against his dark hair, and Gaspard gives into the temptation to kiss it. "get better soon."

He wonders what Xavier's more confused about, the kiss or the gesture or his demeanour. "What doctrine call you this?"

"I don't. It's a blessing. For Christmas." Gaspard rolls his eyes playfully but leads him down the steps, his touch delicate against Xavier's gloved fingertips nevertheless. "There's a prayer that went with it, too. Would you like to hear it? - Our Father in Heaven, O you who are there, hallowed be thy name; visible in candlelight, going over where the river goes, bless us and this city both and please make my friend well. Amen."

Xavier gives him a deadpan look. "Happy Birthday."

Gaspard splutters in mock outrage. "Mec! Really?"

It's always been this way between them, one of them blurting out honest sentiments and the other deflecting. Thanks be to God that Xavier didn't react like this to his actual confession, some five weeks ago; even then, they were always so close anyway that being official hasn't made much of a difference. (They kiss and hold hands more often, yes, but they've had no more intimate or serious or revelatory considerations than what they were already sharing before.) So they've still got things to iron out, clearly, appropriate reactions to sincere good wishes most of all. Little do they know that two of their friends are having a similarly heart-racing time of things, less than ten minutes away. Unlike them, Xavier bails Gaspard out straight away, resting his warm cheek against the latter's shoulder as soon as they're at the bottom of the stairs. He doesn't say anything, but lingers there as they walk, eyelids half shut and dreamy with pleasure.

Later, he will trace the scales on Gaspard's arm, and whisper his thanks as he sleeps. But this is the moment Gaspard assumes it, and the weight on his heart lifts immediately in response; gratitude is always appreciated, yes, but it need not be verbal. Not when two people know each other as well as they do.

"... Gaspard?"

"Mm?"

Xavier raises his hand to where the Saint-Sulpice's Christmas tree stands. "Look over there... right at the top."

He doesn't quite get what he's talking about at first. But upon Xavier's insistence, he soon understands to look past the top of the tree. What he sees makes him smile: doves have settled in each crevice for the night, and from the way the lighting's set up, the golden star of the tree sits at the same level as a pair of snow-white doves tucked up soft and warm against each other. "Show-offs," Xavier mumbles affectionately. "I wonder if they know they're being watched."

The breeze is a gentle one. He catches a hint of Xavier's scent, warm and smoky with the faintest tang of salt.

"You know, Gaspard? ... They mate for life."

Gaspard leans down wordlessly to kiss the top of his head. Their hands have crossed the distance between them and have folded, one over the other, like a pair of wings settling after flight.

Xavier's eyes drift shut. He is too tired to talk much, but keeps pace with Gaspard without too much difficulty. Regardless of whether the pigeons know they're being watched, he knows he and Gaspard ought to be. "I wish they could have seen us tonight," he says, his voice nearly inaudible. "... they should have seen us tonight. I'm sorry I'm so ill."

Ah.

There it is, the heart of the matter, the one Gaspard set aside in case Xavier felt too guilty about it. Their families are still under the impression that they're just friends. Neither would have been surprised to know they were official, but they were planning to make quite the announcement of it tonight. This is why Xavier was so anxious to do something together, even with his illness, so that someone would see them and notice how loving they were. There's a pang in his heart but he presses it back, thinking instead of what he foresaw in the church; he looks down at Xavier and bends his knees, gesturing towards his back.

"May I?"

So Virgil to Dante. It is time to do what he must.

Xavier puts up no resistance. He settles himself against Gaspard's back and slumps contentedly against him as he stands. He's even lighter than the usual, not having had much of an appetite since his cold. "Please still like me?" He murmurs against the other's hair, nuzzling quietly into the birdsnest warmth, and Gaspard hums in response.

The water torture of his heels emptying them both down that Parisian street, evacuated as the channels of their hearts.

This will be one memory.

-----

There is in Paris a cafe called Les Deux Magots, host to Sartre and Beauvoir and countless discussions of prominence in prior decades. Like everything else it's closed for the night, but it is here Vincent and Sebastian pause to contemplate where they must turn; they could have turned left at any of the dozen splits in the road they've come, but they came here because this is the landmark they both recognize. "Hold on," Vincent calls, and quickly crosses the road to check the Mass timetable at the Église de Saint Germain des Prés. He comes back, shaking his head. "last one started at ten thirty, they're all gone now. A pity, even we used to go sometimes."

By this time, Sebastian has had the time to think over all that Vincent has said: Germany, being part of Vincent's family (whatever that means), where their friendship stands. He's not confident he's come to a conclusion, but he can comment on it. "You're a honest man, Vinco," Sebastian says, and Vincent turns around, eyebrows raised at the switch back to his nickname. "but it's seldom you give away so much of it. I was a little blindsided, I think."

Vincent offers a crooked grin. "Merry Christmas. Enjoy it while it lasts."

"Thank you. I, um. You know I'm going away on the thirtieth," the older man nods, a little more puzzled as to where this is going. "my maternal family, in Belgrade – I'm more for the New Year, really, and next Christmas is a long time away for Germany's sake – if you... if you wanted-"

"Mon Dieu, what are you guys doing here?"

Vincent whips around at the voice. What he sees makes him whoop for joy and run right across the road, again. Sebastian only wishes he could curse the heavens but hasn't the strength, not after seeing Xavier heaved upon Gaspard's back; now that's something he never imagined he would see. "Never mind us, what are you doing here?" Vincent's asking in the meantime, while Sebastian cautiously waits for the lights to change before crossing. "Are you coming back from somewhere?"

"Mass at the Saint-Sulpice," Gaspard answers in Xavier's stead. (‘Saint-Sulpice, why didn’t I think of that!’ Vincent exclaims, though he grins at the sight of Xavier trying to clamber down with as much dignity as possible.) He pauses to let him down proper, smiling as his partner throws his arms around Vincent, and then Sebastian too when he arrives. "Xavier's not feeling too well, so we opted to have a quiet Christmas, the two of us."

"Oh, excellent. Don't give it to me or Seb."

"Puh-lease. I'm not that ill. It's not because we didn't want to see anybody!" Xavier's perked up in the presence of familiar people. Sebastian shifts awkwardly on his feet, suddenly unsure what to do in the company of extroverts; but Vincent comes to his rescue again, resuming his place next to him to affirm them as a pair. This is very much Xavier's own language, too, as they find out when he looks at them up and down with a slow wicked grin. "... I'll be. Gramps got a bit lonely for Christmas, huh?"

Vincent's not shaken in the slightest. "Hardly. I'm never lonesome with family around, such is life." He squeezes Sebastian's hand. "And considering you ended up seeing us, I guess now's about the right time to extend that definition. You two lovebirds want to come along and tackle a fridgeful of pheasant with us? Compete for the wishbone, maybe?"

And this is how he and Sebastian never make it down to the Jardin du Luxembourg that night. But the trade-off is better; Vincent has made the one offer neither Xavier nor Gaspard can refuse, considering that they only woke up for Mass and haven't eaten in a number of hours. "Hell yeah, Vinco, lead the way," Xavier exclaims. "and do wish me and Gaspard good luck, if anything – it's been five weeks!"

So they all have a destination now, and they'll all be fed. Xavier hops back into Gaspard's arms, presenting a laughing and faintly damp weight from his fever starting to break. At least part of his illness has to do with the lack of food, and what better cure is there for a cold other than good rest and food and cheer? Vincent gains company and Xavier and Gaspard receives recognition. It’s not quite gift-giving, but maybe it’s better. And as for Sebastian, who has the most important and yet the least concrete desire of all, his initial deflated feeling is not made to last for long. When they're nearly back to his apartment, Vincent gives Gaspard the keys, and tells them to go ahead and set up something comfortable for Xavier to rest on. This he does with gratitude, which lets the older man turn back to Sebastian so he can give him the full attention he deserves. "I've made you wait because I was weighing up what my responsibilities were," he says. "and – you know something?"

"... Ah?"

Vincent smiles. "I confess I've never been to Serbia before."

He loves to travel, but has always lamented that he never got to do much of it in his youth. He's sometimes been ashamed of the fact, unwilling to be open about it to others. Sebastian gets it straight away. It's his turn to be the guide now, as Vincent has been for him. And unlike how he is with almost any other responsibility that falls onto his lap, he doesn't hesitate this time.

"I would like that," Sebastian whispers, and links their fingers together. "I'd like that a lot."

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Day 24

Characters: OC Angel Moore and Avengers

Warnings: Fluff, possibly minor language

A/N: Holy crap! I cant believe that it’s Christmas Eve. It came all to fast, but im excited that it’s here. Without further adieu, here is the second to last of the 24 days stories.

If you would like to read the previous day’s story, you can read it HERE

If you would like to read the background to the OC Angel Moore, you can read it HERE

Angel was standing in front of her floor length mirror when the first of two knocks sounded at her door. She tugged at her jeans to straighten them out before she called to the visitor.

“Coming!” She gave one final tug, and glancing to make sure her hair was fine, she left her bedroom. Her hand on the handle, she paused and took a breath.

“Merry Christmas Eve, Angel,” Wanda greeted happily. Angel smiled brightly, moving forward to give her a hug.

“And to you too,” She said, standing straight again. She moved back so she could let Wanda through to enter her apartment. She shut the door, and waved her hand around the living space.

Wanda grinned at the Christmas lights and decorations strewn around the space, bringing a festive uplift to the modern madness that was her Stark Industries decorated home.

“You know, I think we should re-decorate,” Wanda observed, tapping her toe against the couch. Angel huffed a breath, and nodded.

“I think that would be fun. But in the meantime, make yourself comfortable. Natasha should be here--” Another knock on the door cut her sentence off. Angel nodded again and pointed over her shoulder to the door.

“Any minute,” Angel concluded, turning on her heel. Opening the door once more, she came face to face with the red headed assassin. With her makeup on point (as always), and beautiful gold earrings, she held a bottle of red wine.

“Oooh, gimmie gimmie,” Angel said playfully, making grabby hands towards the bottle. Natasha threw her a playful smile, and held the glass bottle out of her reach. Angel chuckled and shook her head, once more standing out of the way so that Natasha could enter.

“Where are your glasses?” Natasha asked, giving the wine a tiny shake.

“Over the fridge for fancy, next to the sink for sippy cups,” Angel explained, moving to collect a few loose items off her coffee table. Natasha nodded and made her way into the kitchenette, pushing herself up on her toes to reach into the cabinet above the refrigerator.

Angel plunked down in an armchair as she listened to the crystalline clink of the wine glasses.

“Hold up, is Wanda even allowed to drink that?” Angel questioned. Wanda frowned and snatched a glass and the bottle, pouring herself a helping.

“I’m 22, thank you so much for asking,” She grumbled, taking a sip. Natasha took the bottle away from the brunette’s hands, and carried on to pour herself and Angel each a glass. She raised her eyebrow at the young woman.

“Then you should know how to pour it properly. Give it a twist as you pull it away.” Natahsa demonstrated, twirling the bottle on its axis as she pulled it up. Angel accepted her glass with a smile and a raise of the crystal.

“Prevents dripping. And smooths it out,” Angel finished. Her and the redhead tapped their glasses together. They held them there for a moment, and Wanda grinned lightly before doing the same.

__________

The three women walked down the hallway, already with their shoes off, and carrying the empty wine bottle. They entered the common room, the tree lit up beautifully in the setting sun. A chorus of greeting and holiday cheer rose from the occupants, and the three women gave hugs to them all.

“Hey, Angel, is Olivia coming?” Tony asked. Natasha chuckled as she set the bottle down on the already broken into bar, and Angel groaned.

“I swear, you love my kid more than me! I’m wounded!” Angel playfully complained, dramatically putting the back of her hand to her forehead. But she glanced at her watch, and started to pull on her shoes.

“How can we not love her?” Clint asked with a shrug. Angel chuckled and patted his shoulder as she stood. A few others laughed.

“That's the right answer, Barton. I’m going to pick her up now, and I should be back by the time Peter swings over,” She explains, weaving her way through the group towards the elevator that will take her to the landing pad.

__________

Angel lands with little Olivia bundled in her arms. Her wings sent gusts of wind around them, and she set her daughter down.

“Good job, mommy!” Olivia said with a clap of her hands. Angel chuckled and retracted her wings, reaching out to take the small girl’s hand.

“Thank you, Livvey bear.” Angel’s whole chest warmed up as she looked at her child. In her little maroon dress coat, and her forest green dress that she insisted she wore that night. Her tiny black flats that almost fell off once or twice during the flight, the look completed by her Iron Man backpack, which held her pajamas and stocking for hanging with the other Avengers stockings.

They walked through the tower, and entered the common area after dropping off her bag. Olivia ran around and gave them each a big hug. She began telling the story of her meeting Santa at Macy’s to Peter, who listened with great interest.

Angel sat down on the couch, propping her feet up, and watching the group talk effortlessly. She sighed, leaning her head back to listen to the carols radiating from the room’s speaker system.

__________

Food was brought out, cooked by Wanda and Angel. Bacon wrapped candied dates, baked brie and apples, shrimp cocktail, vegetable platters, and much more lined the buffet table by the bar.

People were laughing happily, bellies full and a sparkle in their eyes. No disagreements, minus the small political mutters that Sam nipped in the bud.

After a much needed viewing of The Polar Express, a prerequisite on Christmas Eve, things were winding down. Olivia was curled into her mother’s lap, somewhere in between sleep and awake, face nuzzled into the soft fabric of Angel’s sweater.

“Mommy, can you read me Jan Brett?” She asked quietly, as the room settled into silence. Angel ran her fingers through the small girl’s hair, and nodded, chin bumping lightly against the top of her daughter’s head so she could feel her answer.

“Where is the book, sweetheart?”

“Over there,” Olivia said, pointing to the side table, where she must have put it after she stopped back in Angel’s apartment.

“Bucky, would you mind--” She pointed to the hardcover book, and he nodded. After picking it up, he held it to admire the art on the front, before handing it to his team mate.

“Thanks,” She said and he hummed in response. She moved her daughter off her lap so she could open the book, the small girl quickly relocating onto the lap of the chemist. Bruce smiled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.

“What one?” Angel asked quietly. WIth a yawn, Olivia replied.

“The usual.”

“Alright.” Angel started to read out loud, drawing everyone to her voice. A soft melody of words, made even more joyous by the story on the page. She tucked her leg under herself, and continued on.

Around her, Tony and Steve moved to sit on the floor around the coffee table, leaning their heads in their propped up arms. Wanda picked absent mindedly at the cookies in her lap, a smile creeping up her face. Thor listened intently to the tales that he had never heard, but was happy to learn.

As she came to the end of her first story, ending the tale of a girl trying to prepare Santa’s reindeer, she glanced at Olivia. She had her cheek mashed into the arm of Bruce, smiling with a droopy look that only a late night could bring.

She read one last story.

“Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” Olivia made a face, a small sound of disgust escaping her lips at the mention of the rodent. A few small laughs sounded from around the group, and Angel carried on.

After she was finished with the story, and half suspected that Olivia might be asleep, she shut the hard cover book.

“Again!” Olivia mumbled airily.

“Oh, no. Now we have to put out stockings and cookies so Santa can come,” Angel chuckled. Her daughter’s eyes popped open, and she picked her head up with little difficulty. Wanda stood and picked up the small girl, securing her tired body in her arms.

“How about we go pick out a plate and glass?” The child nodded, and together, they walked off towards the kitchen.

Angel stood with some effort, stretching out her back and legs.

“Alright, everyone has their stockings, yes?” She asked. They nodded or hummed their answers, some pulling their cloth socks out of their pockets, others standing and retrieving them from wherever they hid them. Angel smiled.

“Good.”

__________

Olivia placed the plate piled with cookies on the coffee table, Wanda setting the glass of cold milk next to it.

“Friday, extend the hooks,” Tony said lazily.

“Yes, boss.” With a few small clicking sounds, 11 hooks in total were extended from the wall. One for each Avenger, plus child. One by one, they stood and hung the festive bags on the wall. The stocking waited patiently to be filled, and the entire team stood back to admire them.

“Mom, if there’s no fireplace, how will Santa get in?” Olivia asked as she tugged on her mother’s hand. Angel looked down, opening her mouth to answer, but no response came to mind.

“The front guards would know to let him in. But fortunately, they don’t need to know that. Hit it, Fri,” Tony said as he waved his finger at the ceiling. Without responding, the AI lifted back part of the concrete wall, where a fireplace had been hidden seamlessly. Flames danced out of the glass pebbles, causing a warm glow to envelop the large room.

They admired it for a few minutes, before they each said goodnight to each other, and went to sleep.

24 Days Tags:

@im-a-light-child​ @nomadicpixel​

0 notes

I’ll Be Home for Winter Break

Imaginesfordayss 25 Days of Christmas Challenge

Day 18: Song Fic

Summary: Salim doesn’t even celebrate Christmas, but that doesn’t mean he wants to spend it apart from his boyfriend. Too bad he’s on the opposite side of the country.

Long Distance AU based on I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Leslie Odom Jr.

Warnings: Smut, Cursing

Word Count: 6.8k

Also on AO3

“I'll be home for Christmas

You can plan on me Please have snow and mistletoe And presents on the tree...”

The clock on Salim’s laptop had just ticked over to nine o’clock when he opened Skype and made his daily Skype call. The usual choppy chime came loud through his speakers and he turned the volume down, getting comfortable in his desk chair. Only a few moments passed before the call picked up and his boyfriend’s scruffy face popped up on his screen.

“Assalamu alaikum.” The Jinn said, smiling into the camera.

"Wa alaikum assalaam.” Salim replied, adjusting the screen so his face was properly in the frame, “How was your day?”

“It was long,” The bearded man replied, running a hand through his hair, “I feel like I worked eight shifts instead of two.”

“Two?”

“I covered a morning shift as well as my mid shift. I felt like I would never get to go home.”

Salim frowned, “You must take care of yourself, habibi, or you will burn out and at such a young age.”

The Jinn, or Ibrahim as was his real name, had moved to Los Angeles five months ago, at the beginning of their junior year in college, to complete a film internship with CBS. He wouldn’t say it was his dream or anything, working for that specific company, but it was one step closer to his goal of being a film producer and he couldn’t just turn down the opportunity. The internship was only a few weeks, but he didn’t see any sense in moving out there for only a semester and decided to transfer to the New York film academy’s Los Angeles campus. So, with a heavy heart, he said goodbye to his boyfriend and his friends and made the move from New York to LA.

Since it was the same school, he was fortunate in that his tuition didn’t change, but it was so late in the year he couldn’t find a dorm so he was rooming in a too small and too expensive apartment with a roommate. To cover costs he had gotten a job as a waiter and drove for Lyft when he ad the time. Between that and his internship and also going to school, the man felt like he was exhausted 100% of the time. Salim worried about him working so hard, but also did his best to support him whenever he could.

“Don’t worry,” Ibrahim replied, “I have tomorrow off, so I can sleep in and eat a real breakfast and all those other mundane things you want me to do.”

Salim smiled, “Thank you.”

“And how was your day?”

“Normal. Boring.” Salim said, “Laura showed up to class drunk and got into a row with the professor.”

Ibrahim laughed, “So it was a very normal day then.”

At that moment, the door to Salim’s room suddenly opened, revealing his giant, red-headed roommate.

“That the Jinn?” Mad Sweeney asked, dropping his bag down with a thump.

“Yes,” Salim said, angling the screen to Sweeney, “Say hello.”

“Hello asshole.” Ibrahim said, giving a slight wave.

“Prick.” Sweeney said in greeting.

Sweeney and the Jinn had an odd, tentative friendship. When they were together they more often than not argued and yelled and once or twice even physically fought, but otherwise seemed to enjoy each other's company. They had actually given each other their nicknames. Mad Sweeney’s real name was Finnegan, but due to a drunken night out and some naked wandering by the irishman, he was dubbed Mad Sweeney by Ibrahim and to this day most of the campus knew him as Mad Sweeney. In retaliation, Sweeney had nicknamed Ibrahim the Jinn after he set himself on fire during a film project. It was an odd and slightly dysfunctional relationship, but they seemed to enjoy themselves.

“Don’t mind me,” Sweeney said, plopping down on the couch under his bunk, “You two can go back to eye fucking through the screen.” He put his headphones in and waved dismissively. He was used to this by now. Salim and Ibrahim skyped almost every night since they’d been apart.

Salim turned back to the screen, “I think he misses you.”

Ibrahim rolled his eyes, “Oh I know. No one takes his shit like I do. And it’s not like he can really fight with Shadow anymore now that they’re dating.”

Salim grinned, “You should see him now, he is so dopey around him. He opens doors and holds his hands and is a complete gentleman. Nothing like our usual rude and aggressive Mad Sweeney.”

“He’s a Mad Sweetie, now.”

“Stop gossiping about me when I’m right here.” Sweeney said gruffly.

“I thought you weren’t listening?”

“I wasn’t,” The redhead responded, crossing his arms, “Netflix was buffering. Shitty wifi.”

“Sure.” Ibrahim said dryly.

The three of them bickered harmlessly for a few moments before Sweeney huffed and pointedly watched Frontier on his laptop.

“It feels like years since I last saw you,” Salim murmured softly, “I can’t wait till winter break.”

Ibrahim paused, “About that…”

“What?”

He sighed, “I don’t think I will make it out there.”

Salim’s heart sank, “Oh.”

“I’m so sorry,” He said, “I got an offer to work with this up and coming director in Santa Monica and they’re willing to pay me really well. I’m trying to see if we can reschedule a different time, but he is being very difficult. And he heard I don’t really celebrate Christmas, so he thinks I have all this time on my hands.”

“I understand,” Salim sighed, “You need the money, and I wouldn’t want you to turn something like that down.”

Ibrahim knew he had hurt Salim with this. They hadn’t seen each other physically since August, only texting and regular skyping. Ibrahim knew Salim comforted himself during their time apart with thoughts of the three uninterrupted weeks of winter break, and now he was taking that away. Who knew when they’d see each other next.

“I haven’t cancelled my plane ticket,” Ibrahim urged, “I’ll work this out.”

Salim smiled slightly, “It’s okay if you can’t. Don’t worry, we will work something else out.”

Ibrahim felt something heavy settle in his chest, “Don’t count me out just yet.” He said, trying to lighten the mood.

“I won’t.” Salim replied, but disappointment still hung heavy around him.

“Are you going to decorate your room again this year?” Ibrahim said, trying to change the subject.

Salim looked around. It was only the first week of December, so he hadn’t really thought about it yet, “Not yet, but maybe I’ll go with Laura or Audrey this weekend.”

“You should get a tree this time, a small one. Something to put your presents under this year..”

“Sweeney will probably destroy it first chance he gets.” Salim said, throwing a look at the man still curled up on his couch drooling over Jason Momoa.

“Tell him he’s dead if he does.” Ibrahim growled.

“Cause he always listens to you,” Salim rolled his eyes, “I’ll just put his present from Shadow under it. Even drunk, he wouldn’t risk that.”

“Smart.” Ibrahim conceded.

Salim yawned widely, the long day suddenly catching up with him.

“It’s getting late over there,” Ibrahim said, noticing his boyfriends exhaustion, “You have your 8am class tomorrow, you should get some sleep.”

“You’re right,” Salim said, stretching and yawning again, “I’ll call you after class tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’ll text you when I wake up,” Ibrahim said, leaning forward slightly “Ana ahibbak, habibi.”

Salim smiled, “I love you too.”

After he hung up, Salim blew out a long sigh, sitting back in his desk chair.

“Trouble in paradise?” Sweeney asked after a moment.

“Ibrahim isn’t coming home for Christmas break.” Salim said sadly.

“What a dick,” Sweeney said, “You gonna go home now?”

Salim shook his head, “I already told the RA I was staying.”

“Yeah, but almost everyone is staying.” Sweeney pointed out, “This is international housing, everyone lives like light years away. I’m sure she’d rather one more person left.”

Sweeney had a point. Their dorm was specifically for international students like Salim and the Ireland born Sweeney. Most students couldn’t, like Sweeney, or, in Salim’s case, wouldn’t justify the cost of the plane ticket. Especially if they didn’t celebrate Christmas.

“It’s alright, I’ll just hang out here.” Salim said, getting up to change.

“You could come with me to Shadow’s place,” Sweeney offered, “His mom is hosting this big feast for all the witches in Harlem. It’ll be fun.”

“Sure,” Salim said, slipping on his pajama pants, “I always forget that Shadow’s mom is a wiccan.”

“I don’t think she’s actually a wiccan,” Sweeney corrected, “Shadow tried to explain it to me, but I wasn’t actually listening.”

“You’re such a good boyfriend.” Salim said sarcastically.

“I really, truly am.”

Salim finished his nightly routine, brushing his teeth and going through his last prayer. He flopped into bed with an ‘oof’, squirming around until he got comfortable. Sweeney was still thoroughly engrossed with his Netflix, so Salim through pencils at him until he got up and turned off the light. Sweeney was basically nocturnal, and had been since the pair first roomed together their freshman year, so he didn’t feel bad about making him sit in the dark.

It was a while before Salim fell asleep, sad thoughts of how he couldn’t celebrate Christmas with his boyfriend. He thought back to last Christmas, when their relationship had still been new and awkward. They had been friends for a while at that point, but had only made the step from friends to boyfriends a month ago. Shadow had placed Mistletoe everywhere, and always seemed to conveniently be around to enforce the kissing policy. Salim would shyly protested, but Ibrahim would kiss him sweetly every time.

‘Don’t dwell on sad things,’ Salim thought to himself, ‘There’s no use in being depressed over things you can’t control.’ Salim grunted and flipped his pillow over, fluffing it with more force than necessary and closed his eyes tightly. He thought of his accounting final, what he still needed to go over to make sure he aced it. He planned out how he would gently turn down Audrey’s offer to knit him a Christmas sweater. Salim went through every dull, tedious thought until eventually he fell asleep.

“Christmas Eve will find me Where the lovelight gleams I'll be home for Christmas If only in my dreams…”

“I wish you had come home for your break, Salim.”

Salim was doing his best not to be pathetic, but based on his current state he wasn’t succeeding. He had barely left his dorm since school had officially began winter break and was steadily sinking lower and lower into a yuletide depression. Salim had been bribing Sweeney in bringing him food so he didn’t need to leave for that, so mostly all he’d done was pray and shower and shove handfuls of Cheez-Its into his mouth from the comfort of his bed.

“It is not like I’d be happier there, Nadira.” Salim said grumpily. In a last ditch effort to cheer himself up, Salim had called his sister. She didn’t seem to be helping much and Salim groaned.

“But you would be with me.” Nadira pointed out, pouting through the tiny cell phone screen, “And what’s better than spending time with your favorite sister.”

“Not much.” Salim admitted.

Nadira was Salim’s best friend growing up, and the first person he’d come out to when he was sixteen. They were only two years apart, with Nadira being older, and had always gotten along very well. Nadira understood Salim in a way their parents never would, and accepted him for who he was.

“It’s too late to come out there now.” Salim sighed, plucking at a loose thread on his pants.

“No it isn’t, I could buy you a plane ticket right now. I could literally be purchasing airfare as we speak.”

Salim laughed, “It wouldn’t be worth it and you know it. Besides, Baba will just drag on and on about moving back to Oman and put an end to my sinning in America.”

“Ooo, what kind of sins are you committing over there.” Nadira giggled.

Salim rolled his eyes, “Beside being gay, not much.”

“Boring.”

“What would you like me to be doing.” Salim asked rhetorically.

“Something!” Nadira said dramatically, “I mean, you are in America. You are in New York! Have some fun, go party, spray paint a building, I don’t know.”

Salim laughed, “You want me to vandalise a building? You think that’s what people do for fun over here. What kind of TV are you watching?”

Nadira huffed, “I only get so many channels over here, do not judge me.”

Salim laughed again and teased her for a bit longer before she had to go help their mother with dinner and they hung up. Nadira had helped raise his spirits a bit so he decided it was time to get up and stop sulking in his dorm. There was a coffee shop a few blocks away that Shadow worked at part time, so Salim threw on as many layers as he possibly could to protect his sensitive desert skin and trekked out into the cold.

It took him twenty minutes to carefully traverse the snowy sidewalks but eventually he entered the peppermint smelling establishment.The place wasn’t packed, but wasn’t dead either. Most of the tables were full, so Salim scooted around a few misplaced chairs and sat at the small bar next to the coffee machines. Looking around, Salim located Shadow sitting at a table across the room, fiddling with his phone.

“Shadow.” Salim called softly, waving to get his attention.

Shadow looked up from his screen and smiled upon seeing Salim. He got up and grabbed his cup and walked over to Salim, “What are you doing here?” He said, hugging Salim briefly before sitting down.

“Figured I should leave my room sometime before everything is closed for Christmas.” Salim said.

“That’s the spirit!” Shadow said cheerfully, “My break’s almost over, how about I make you a drink.”

Salim nodded and Shadow slipped behind the counter and started working with the machines. He did something complicated with milk, coffee beans, and a shaker that Salim was 70% sure was Cayenne pepper before sliding the plastic cup across the counter.

“Don’t knock it till you try it.” Shadow said, noticing Salim’s wary look.

Salim took a hesitant sip and was pleasantly surprised, “Not bad. I like what you did with the spice.”

Shadow grinned, “That’s why they call me the barista baron.” He said cockily.

“No one calls you that.” One of his coworkers joked.

“Oh I’m sorry, then what does my name tag say?”

Salim peered over and sure enough, ‘Barista Baron’ was printed over the plastic name tag, “Is that why you needed my label maker?”

“Yes.” Shadow said, “And I still can’t get over how you have an actual label maker.”

“Labels are important for organization Shadow.” Salim said, repeating what he said last night.

Shadow rolled his eyes, “Sure Salim, cause just writing your own labels is so hard.”

“Why do that when I can have a little machine do it for me?” Salim said holding back a laugh.

Salim spent about an hour bantering with Shadow and taste testing drinks for him before his manager came out and told him to stop wasting ingredients. His good mood was still going strong so he made good use of it and wandered the streets for a while. He considered going gift shopping for the few people he hadn’t gotten to, but he already had a thing against crowds and this was New York during Christmas and he enjoyed being alive and sane so he did some window shopping before retreating from the cold back to his dorm room.

He did laundry and organized his book shelf and completed his afternoon prayer and skimmed through one of his textbooks for next semester. Salim was collecting trash for a dumpster run when his phone buzzed.

Salim walked over and looked at the caller ID before swiping to answer.

“Hi, assalamu alaikum.” Salim said, cradling the device between his shoulder and cheek.

“Wa alaikum assalaam.” The Jinn responded, “What are you up to?”

“Just cleaning, picking up a few things.,” Salim said, throwing away a bunch of M&M wrappers from under his bed.

“So what you mean to say is you’re picking up Sweeney’s side of the room.” Ibrahim said.

Salim chuckled, “Actually not this time. I’ve let my side get pretty cluttered lately.”

Ibrahim paused, “You are only messy when you are sad.”

Ibrahim knew him too well and Salim shrugged before realising he was talking on the phone, “It’s alright Ibrahim, I know you did your best.”

“Doesn’t mean I still do not feel horrible.”

Salim smiled softly, sitting on the edge of his bed, “Don’t feel bad. I mean, we will have New Years right?”

Ibrahim hadn’t been able to get out of his film obligation, but had worked it out so he could spend New Year's in New York with Salim. It wasn’t as long as he would have wanted, but Salim wasn’t going to be picky about it. All that mattered was spending time with his boyfriend.

“Definitely, I’ll be there no matter what.” Ibrahim said earnestly.

“Good.” Salim said, feeling a bit better, “Where are you? It sounds busy.”

“It’s the traffic,” Ibrahim said, “I’m just walking home from work.”

“You didn’t drive to work?”

“Trying to save gas.” Ibrahim said dismissively, “Hey, tomorrow is Christmas Eve, what are you going to do?”

Salim shrugged, “Probably just watch Christmas movies and skype with my parents.”

“Tell them I said hello.” Ibrahim said teasingly.

Salim chuckled, “I’ll be sure to do that.”

“Alright, I’m going into my apartment now. I’ll have to hang up, I’m getting ready for a night shoot with the director. I won’t be able to Skype tonight either.” Ibrahim said.

Salim didn’t let the sadness get to him, “Okay. Text me when you get home? I’ll be up.”

“I will. Love you, talk to you tomorrow.”

“Love you too.”

Salim hung up and sighed, shaking himself slightly, “I’m not going to be sad.” He told himself. He would see Ibrahim in a week. There was nothing to be down about.

Salim continued decluttering his room until he found himself moving and setting down the same objects over and over again and finally retreated to the blanket nest on his bed. He was always cold during the winter, being unused to the season and all, so over the now three years he had spent in New York he had accumulated an ungodly amount of blankets. Some of them were thin generic blankets and others were thick ones he had gotten online and he had a few handmade scratchy quilts from friends who knew of his obsession and at least six of the super soft ones from Target. Sweeney said he had a problem but Salim just really enjoyed being warm.

The omani spent the next few hours switching between watching movies and scrolling through Twitter on his phone. Salim wasn’t very active on social media, but he had to keep track of all Trump’s dumb tweets and sent his favorites to Ibrahim even though he knew he couldn’t respond until later. Sweeney hadn’t come home yet so Salim assumed he was staying with Shadow that night, or had maybe passed out in a subway station drunk again. Either way he’d be home tomorrow to give Salim a ride to Harlem so they could hang out with Shadow’s mother for Christmas Eve.

It was almost one in the morning and Salim was dozing in and out of sleep while Polar Express played on his laptop. He kept having odd waking dreams where Ibrahim was in New York and they did a number of cliche holiday activities like skating at Rockefeller. They were good dreams and every time he jolted awake he wished they would never stop.

The buzzing of his phone finally jolted him fully awake. Salim rubbed his eyes, searching through his sleepily for the buzzing device.

“Hello.” Salim said, sleepily.

“Habibi,” Ibrahim said, “You were sleeping, I’m sorry to wake you.”

Salim stretched, careful not to displace his laptop from where it was on his lap, “It’s alright. I told you to call. You are home then?”

“Yes, I am home.” Ibrahim said softly, Salim could hear him shuffling in the background, “It’s Christmas Eve.”

Salim pulled the phone away to look at the clock. It was 1:33. Christmas Eve. “You’re right. Happy Christmas Eve.” Salim said.

“Merry Christmas Eve,” The Jinn parroted back, “You’re in your dorm?”

“Yeah.”

“I called in a favor from your Mad Sweeney. He should have delivered something to your room.”

Confused, Salim sat up, looking around their dark room, “I don’t see anything.”

“It must be outside the door,” He urged, “Check for me please.”

Salim groaned but set his laptop on the desk and rolled out of bed. He flicked on the light before unlocking and opening the door.

His first thought was that someone was trying to break into his room and he startled slightly at the person standing right outside the door. Then he recognized him and he almost dropped his phone.

“Ibrahim?”

The bearded man smiled widely and ended the phone call. Standing before Salim, looking sleepy and warm in a green sweater and thick coat, was his boyfriend who was supposed to be almost 3,000 miles away.

“I am home.” Ibrahim repeated, pocketing his cell phone.

Salim didn’t waste any time and threw himself into Ibrahim arms, squeezing him tightly. Ibrahim held him just as close, almost lifting Salim off the ground.

“You’re home.” Salim gasped incredulously, “What are you doing here?”

“I promised I’d be home for Christmas.” Ibrahim said, pulling back to look at Salim, “And I wasn’t going to let some asshole keep me away from you.”

Salim couldn’t help the huge and bright smile that spread across his face. He cupped Ibrahim face between his hands, stroking his cheeks lovingly. The taller man leaned down and pressed their foreheads together softly before capturing Salim’s lip in a kiss.

They pulled each other close until they were flush against the other, every part of their bodies in contact. Salim basked in the feeling of Ibrahim’s beard rubbing against his cheeks and his lips, the burn making it all the more real.

“Excuse me guys.” A voice said, interrupting the men. They broke apart quickly, both breathing hard. A Japanese girl from the end of the hall was there standing awkwardly, “Trying to get to my room.”

“Sorry,” Salim said, blushing intensely. He pulled Ibrahim back into his room, grabbing his suitcase that he just now noticed was sitting next to him, and waved at the girl gracelessly before shutting and locking the door.

Ibrahim snorted before breaking into loud laughter, Salim chuckling with him after the initial feeling of embarrassment faded. He pulled Ibrahim’s suitcase to his side of the room, leaving it next to his desk.

“What are you doing here?” Salim asked.

“Being with you.” Ibrahim said like it was obvious.

“I mean,” Salim paused, “I thought you had to stay in LA.”

“I worked something out with the director. We’re postponing filming until after the New Year.”

“How long are you staying?” Salim asked.

“Until the 2nd.”

Salim brightened, “Really? I get you for the rest of the year?”

Ibrahim smiled, taking the smaller man's hand and pressed a kiss to the inside of his wrist, “We get Christmas and New Year’s together.”

Salim gasped and pulled Ibrahim close again, kissing him quickly, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Ibrahim said, “I want this too.”

The Jinn pulled back, giving Salim a smile before walking over to his bed. He pulled of his coat, hanging it on the bed post, and then his sweater, revealing a plain black shirt. Salim stood there as the other man stripped, his blood heating slightly. It had been awhile since they had been together intimately, and his body knew that. Really, there was no helping his response. He moved to sit down on the bottom end of his bed.

“You’re staring.” The Jinn said, a slow smirk spreading across his face.

Salim shrugged helplessly, not even bothering to deny it. The shirt was tight and had ridden up a bit to reveal a part of Ibrahim’s happy trail. The smirk grew under his beard and Ibrahim moved until he was standing in front of the smaller man. Salim’s hand moved on their own accord to rest on Ibrahim’s chest, sliding upwards until he twined his fingers together behind his neck. Salim pulled him down until their lips met heatedly.

Ibrahim groaned lowly before moving closer, bending down as to not separate from him. Salim was only a few inches shorter than him, but sitting on the bed made their height difference all the more drastic and it felt like Ibrahim was surrounding him completely. Ibrahim brought one hand to Salim’s neck, angling him as to deepen the kiss, and the other fell to the smaller man’s waist. Salim felt him stroking a pattern on his hip, with every pass he got closer and closer to his now aching erection.

“I’ve missed you.” Salim gasped, pulling away to catch his breath. Ibrahim moved to his jaw and then his neck, pressing wet kisses anywhere he could. His beard scrapped along Salim skin deliciously, and Salim shuddered as he sucked a mark just under his jaw.

“You have no idea, how much I miss you.” Ibrahim said, pulling back after he was satisfied Salim would sport a decent sized hickey in the morning, “Every day. Every night. When I’m alone and thinking that I could be here, doing this.”

Ibrahim moved his hand from Salim’s hip to the front of his sleep pants, cupping him through the thin material before stroking him lightly. Salim let out a shuddering breath, moaning lowly. His hips twitched, trying to get closer the Jinn’s fondling. Salim removed his hands from Ibrahim’s neck, sliding them down his shoulders and his chest before coming to rest on his ribs, pulling at the black shirt. He pulled it up as far as he could, bunching it underneath the taller man’s arms. He raked his nails lightly down Ibrahim’s stomach, watching him shudder.

Ibrahim pulled back suddenly, removing has hands from Salim to pull his shirt off the rest of the way. He reached for Salim’s shirt, yanking it off in one fluid motion before pushing the other man down on the bed. Salim panted at his rough treatment and scooted up until his head hit the pillows, Ibrahim following him after shedding his jeans.

Salim pulled him down until they were chest to chest and bit at his lips until Ibrahim finally opened mouth to him, twining their tongues together. Salim moaned, pulling him closer until he was putting his full weight on him. He didn’t want any doubt that this was real, that Ibrahim was here and loving him.

Ibrahim kissed him deeply before moving down to Salim’s throat, his collarbones, his chest, his stomach until he was hovering over his waistband. He snapped it playfully, looking up at Salim before inching it down along with his boxers.

“You’re the only man I know that still wears boxers to sleep.” Ibrahim said, locking eyes with Salim as he pushed his last layers of clothing away.

“I have a roommate,” Salim said breathlessly, “I can’t just walk around like that.”

The Jinn smirked, rubbing his hands up and down Salim’s now bare thighs, “I know for a fact Sweeney never wears pants, let alone boxers.” He pressed a long kiss to his hip bone, “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“Let’s not talk about my roommate right now.” Salim moaned as Ibrahim licked a path from his balls to the head of his cock. He grabbed the sheets with one hand and Ibrahim’s curls with the other, trying not to buck up into his mouth.

Ibrahim took him deeper into his mouth, holding his hips in place. Salim moaned, unable to stifle his voice as he was touched by another man for the first time in months. He pulled at Ibrahim’s hair, losing his breath when it caused the other man to suck him harder. Minutes passed as Salim got lost in the feeling of his boyfriend’s mouth on him. He could feel his release building quickly and he nudged Ibrahim with his foot.

“Ibrahim.” Salim groaned.

Ibrahim pulled off him, just as breathless as Salim was. Salim used his grip on his hair and urged him to move up, until Ibrahim was within reach and he could kiss him hungrily.

Blindly, Ibrahim reached out to the small nightstand next to the bed. He ripped open the drawer and rifled through until he pulled out the tube of lube.

“Condoms?”

“They all expired. Didn’t think you were coming so no use in buying more.”

Ibrahim nodded, kissing him again. He knew for a fact he was clean and he trusted that Salim had been faithful in their time apart.

Salim felt him moving and soon Ibrahim was pressing a lubed finger to his entrance. Salim gripped the arm Ibrahim used to hold himself up and used the other to cup his cheeks, deepening the kiss. Ibrahim pushed in slowly, stopping briefly when Salim’s breath caught in his throat and he squirmed. Ibrahim locked eyes with him, checking to see if he was okay and only continued when Salim nodded.

“It’s been awhile.” Salim said breathlessly.

“I’ll go slow,” Ibrahim replied, kissing the corner of his mouth, “Tell me if you want to stop.”

The Jinn pressed in again, slowly, watching Salim’s reaction. The smaller man took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he got used to the intrusion. Ibrahim pulled out, reapplying the lube before sliding two fingers inside him carefully. Salim groaned, shifting as Ibrahim began scissoring his fingers and stretching him. They hadn’t been together in months and Ibrahim did his best to take it slow with Salim, knowing that he would be out of practice and, frankly, tight.

After a few minutes, Salim groaned again but this time out of impatience. The Jinn smirked, kissing under his jaw. He mumbled something in arabic to which Salim snorted at before he slid in another finger. He arched his fingers and pressed that spot in Salim that had him gasping and arching his hips. A low rumbling sound erupted from Ibrahim’s chest at the sight and he suddenly agreed with Salim’s impatient sentiment.

He bumped Salim’s prostate a few times before pulling out and grabbing the lube again. He slicked his erection, biting back a moan at the contact on his heated skin, and lined up with Salim’s entrance. The Jinn hovered over him, one arm next to Salim’s shoulders and the other on his cock. He locked eyes with the other man, giving him one last chance to back out if he wanted to before pushing in slowly.

Salim winced, trying not to clench up. Ibrahim stopped, waiting for him to get used to him before pushing in another few inches. He leaned down and kissed Salim deeply, biting at his bottom lip and stroking his tongue with his, trying to distract him from the pain. Ibrahim moved his now free hand to Salim’s softening erection, stroking him back to full hardness. He pumped his hips in short thrusts, pushing deeper with every motion, until finally his thighs pressed shaily against Salim’s ass.

He pulled away from the kiss, just leaning his forehead against Salim’s trying to collect himself.

“Why did you stop?” Salim asked breathlessly, his accent thick.

“I’m going to come in ten seconds if I don’t control myself.” Ibrahim grumbled.

Salim giggled, wrapping his arms around him, “I don’t care. I just want you, right now.” He kissed him softly, “Make love to me Ibrahim.”

Ibrahim shuddered, those simple words making him lose what little shred of control he had. He shifted, getting a better angle, and eased out of Salim before thrusting back inside him.

Salim moaned, his head falling back into the pillows. Jolts of pleasure shot up his spine with every push and Salim tangled his hands in the Jinn’s hair and pulled him down into a rough kiss. They gasped and grunted into each others mouths as Ibrahim sped up is pace, rocking into Salim with enough force to rock the cheap dorm bed frame. Salim worried briefly about the dull noise, but Ibrahim grabbed his hips and angled him so he was nudging his prostate dead on. All thoughts after that were white noise in the Omani’s head, and he lost himself in the pleasure.

The Jinn pulled back from the kiss, moving to kiss and bite the other man’s jaw. He buried his face in Salim’s next, biting and sucking a dark hickey at the hollow of his throat. Salim dug his nails into his back, moaning loudly.

“Close.” He gasped out, grinding his hips up to match the pace.

Ibrahim pulled back, leaning on his elbow, never once slowing down. He wanted to see Salim, wanted to see him fall apart for the first time in months. The smaller man’s eyes were fluttering, a blush rising on his cheeks. He tried to bite his lip against the whimpering noises punching out of his chest, but it’s futile when Ibrahim wraps a hand around him and strokes him quickly. Salim tenses, breath catching in his throat as he gasps. He reaches out for Ibrahim, wanting him close when he comes, and just barely brushes their lips together before he’s grunting and shaking with the force of his orgasm.

Salim comes just like he acts in day to day life, quiet yet expressive. He gasps and whimpers, opening and closing his mouth like he doesn’t know what to say. His eyes are locked on Ibrahim’s helplessly and just watching him fall apart triggers the Jinn’s own release. Ibrahim thrusts a half a dozen more times before he stop cold, shooting his release inside of Salim. Whereas Salim is quiet in his throes of passion, Ibrahim is loud. All curses and groans as he falls apart in Salim’s arms. Salim hums as he feels the Jinn twitching above him. With one final grunt, the he falls forward, laying completely on top of his boyfriend. Salim takes his weight gladly, running his hands up and down his back in a post-orgasmic haze.

They lay there for a while, simply enjoying being wrapped up in each other before Ibrahim worried about Salim being comfortable under him and rolled over, carefully as to not scoot off the already narrow college bed. The long day of travelling finally started to catch up with him and he felt himself dozing.

“I love you.” Salim whispered, turning to lay his head on Ibrahim’s chest.

Ibrahim pulled him close, “I love you to, Salim.”

The two men shifted until they were properly cuddled around each other in the center of the bed, the blanket pulled up to shield them both from the cool air of Salim’s room. One last kiss was shared between the two men before they drifted to sleep.

/////////////////////////////////

When Salim first woke the next morning, a heavy dose of fear settled in his chest as he awaked to an empty bed. He calmed once he realised he was naked and there was a dull ache in his hips that definitely wasn’t a product of her active dreams. He settled again into the pillows, stretching out his legs and arms. Salim was just wondering where his boyfriend had gotten off to when the door opened loudly and Ibrahim stumbled in. He was dressed only in a pair of ratty looking sweats and Salim’s too small slippers on his feet.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” The Jinn murmured apologetically.

Salim waved his hand dismissively, “Come back to bed.”

Ibrahim chuckled, “One second.”

He kicked off the slippers before pointedly dropping his sweats before sliding back into bed. Salim was blushing, but laughed at his antics.

“Was that necessary?”

“Absolutely,” Ibrahim said, completely serious, “I’ve gone five long months without you, and I don’t plan on letting anything get in the way of your body and mine.”

Ibrahim pulled Salim closer, fondling his obvious morning wood. They exchanged a heated glance, Salim more than willing to continue the activities from the night before, but an obnoxious knock came from the door.

“Are you guys fucking? Cause I’m coming in and I’d rather not be caught in the splash zone.”

Mood: Officially killed.

Salim pulled the blankets up to make sure everything was covered before yelling to Sweeney that he could come in.

“It smells like sex and the Jinn’s cheap cologne in here.” Sweeney announced loudly as he entered the room.

“Please keep your voice down.” Salim hissed.

“It’s not like everyone in this hall doesn’t know you got plowed last night,” Sweeney said, slamming the door shut, “I’m guessing our neighbors caught an earful last night. Why buy porn when they can listen to genie boy here squawk all night long.”

“Eloquent as always Mad Sweeney,” Ibrahim grumbled, “I have to say I missed you the least of all.”

“But you admit you missed me.” Sweeney pointed out cheekily. He toed off his snowy boots along with his thick coat, “Get up and go shower, we have places to be.”

Salim groaned, “It’s winter break, where do we have to be this early in the morning?”

“It’s almost noon, I Dream of Genie,” Sweeney said,“You promised you would go to Shadow’s house with me for their spooky Christmas dinner.”

“I had hoped you assumed I wasn’t going anymore.” Salim said.

\Sweeney tutted, rifling through the pile of clean clothes he hadn’t put away since he’d done his laundry two weeks ago, “You two can pull out of each other long enough to socialize with Shadow and his hippie mother.”

The trio argued for another few minutes, before the couple finally agreed that they should go out and see their friend. Salim and Ibrahim got up after awkwardly ordering Sweeney to turn around, and entered the adjoining bathroom. They showered together, taking turns washing each others hair, and fended off comments from Sweeney when asked why they were taking so long.

The Jinn combed his hair and trimmed his beard while Salim prayed and got dressed, and then they switched, Ibrahim using Salim’s prayer rug as he forgot his in LA. It reminded Ibrahim of when they spent almost every night together last semester, living in a sort of domestic bliss. Their lives melded perfectly then, and he was more than pleased to see that nothing had changed.

Salim pulled on the thick, slightly too big wool sweater that the Jinn had got for him for his birthday last year, and Ibrahim felt it was physically impossible to not kiss him.

“We don’t have time for a quickie,” Sweeney groaned, “We have to go or we’re going to be late.”

“Afraid you’ll make a bad impression your boyfriend’s mother, Mad Sweeney?” Ibrahim teased, ending his kiss with Salim but keeping him close, “Or should I call you Mad Sweetie now.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Sweeney growled, “Ask me how sweet I am after I push you into a snowdrift and watch your genie ass freeze.”

/////////////////////////////////

Christmas Eve was a loud affair at the Moon house, and surprisingly it wasn’t Sweeney to blame. Elaina Moon was much like her son, filled with enough energy and love to fuel a nation, and could apparently host a mean party.

Salim was afraid he’d be stepping into an odd sacrificing ritual, but really there was just a lot of wine drinking and an inordinate amount of crystals and a man named Falcon who read his palms. It was unexpectedly nice and after some mingling and chatting with Shadow, Salim and Ibrahim retreated to a cosy corner in the living room and people watched the rest of the night.

Christmas music played over the speakers and Leslie Odom Jr’s rendition of I’ll Be Home for Christmas filled the air. Ibrahim had Salim cuddled into his side and he felt a warm feeling of contentedness spread through him. Even if this holiday was just another day to him, Ibrahim still appreciated the spirit of family and togetherness that was celebrated. Tomorrow he would probably exchange the few gifts he had brought for his friends and watch too many Christmas movies and dodge Mad Sweeney’s famously laced hot chocolate. It would be fun and filled with all the necessary amount of Christmas cheer, and he’d do it all with Salim by his side. All he needed for Christmas this year and every year was Salim, and as long as he had that, he was home for Christmas.

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something jolly this way comes

Rating:G Characters: (Inkborne) Bendy, Boris, Alice, Henry Warnings: none Description: Bendy’s just discovered Christmas is a thing, and he wants to celebrate.

Problem: He was told about Santa Claus, and believes the man exists. Worse problem: The present he wants from Santa is something Henry can’t fabricate for him.

How to make the little devil feel that Christmas magic, now…?

Also on AO3!

FINISHED JUST IN TIME BEFORE I LEAVE. I uh. Wrote post-story Inkborne fluff. Sue me.

Inkborne is brought to you courtesy of @the-vampire-inside-me. This fic is brought to you courtesy of sudden internal rambling about Bendy’s weird mannerisms and then some realizations about stuff based on that. It follows the other thing I wrote for Inkborne in terms of continuity.

Henry was discovering things about his accidental new children in leaps and bounds now that they weren’t constantly wary of their lives being taken from them.

Boris was a calm, gentle giant; with a tendency to refer to things with canine terminology (children were ‘pups,’ towns and all families but his own were ‘packs’– 'family’ was a term for his and his alone) and a penchant for just taking life one day at a time, growing and discovering at his own pace. He was one to appreciate life in all its forms, complex and simple, and had a fair amount of maturity to him… but not so much that he failed to be any fun. His favorite sport was sassing his best friend.

Alice’s maturity was sharper, wearier; she lacked patience for things she could not understand and, though as responsible and forgiving as Boris, she was far more cynical in general about the intentions of others. It wasn’t as if she were no fun at all, but she carried a quiet edge from her own tragedies.

Maybe Henry was just so good at seeing it because he recognized the harrowed look of a young person who grew into a leader far too soon, knew what it felt like to have too much weight on small shoulders. Seeing her crack a smile was rewarding enough to sustain good feelings for a while day; getting her to leave her shell to laugh and shoot the breeze or maybe even engage in some playful behavior could sustain the family for a week.

Henry was quite sure: however silly both Alice and Boris could sometimes be, they seemed very firmly rooted in young adulthood, late teens, maybe.

The nature of Bendy’s age, however, was… strange.

It seemed like, very often, the demon had been brought to life with the mental and emotional maturity of someone in his later teens, like the other two; besides being jaded to hell and back and demonstrating the reasoning capabilities and understanding of a teenager, Bendy consumed and processed information about the world he’d been denied at a pace far too rapid for any child to manage.

But there were plenty of other times that contradicted that. There was his incessant need to touch what confused or fascinated him, regardless however bad an idea that was for him to actually do, his tendency to taste things that he figured ought to be edible (and weren’t always), to say nothing of how petulant Bendy could be when provoked or when just in a bad mood. That could have been written off as the simple quirks of a demon struggling to learn about the new world around him.

But then there were times he was given to examining, understanding, and believing things about the world in such a way that was positively child-like in its wide-eyed innocence, like how he felt the need to show Henry every frog he managed to catch along the banks of the lake of their farm, or how he collected pretty rocks from each new place they visited, or how he was taken to automatically believing anything about the world told to him by random shmoes in the street, provided that the people providing the information didn’t seem malicious.

Case in point… Santa Claus.

Henry couldn’t remember the last time he celebrated Christmas. With no family and fewer friends, the man didn’t exactly spend much time on his farm. Really, the place was only there as a sort of home base between jobs; someplace to store his stuff and occasionally sleep. He used it so infrequently that bringing his new kids home had required a solid week of work around the place to make it habitable around the clock.

Henry was fine living in a mess and occasionally slapping hasty repair jobs that were little more than bandaids over problems that needed much more proactive solutions. But he wasn’t about to make three young people who had spent their entire lives trapped in one kind of hellhole after another live in this kind of environment.

So new and strange was everything that Henry had completely forgotten about holidays. The mundane was enough work to muddle through, and having not paid attention to Christmas in many years, he failed to notice its approach.

The best thing about the nearby town was, by far, its utter lack of caring about their new supernatural neighbors. Sure, some were less than thrilled, but on the whole the town figured that if they were living with a demon hunter, then all of them, demon included, must be safe.

It was one of these townspeople Henry had to thank for Bendy bursting into the house at supper time with all the force of a hurricane, so excited that he didn’t even bother shedding his winter coat as he bounced around Henry’s ankles, insisting they needed to get a move on.

Because Christmas was in ten days, and the house had to be acceptable for Santa.

What followed was probably the most hectic week of Henry’s life, discounting his time spent chasing down some eldritch abomination, and frankly, that was still saying a lot, considering that even when he didn’t have a dangerous thing he had to kill, his life could still get pretty crazy. But he couldn’t pretend it also wasn’t enjoyable. The evergreen he and Boris chopped down and hauled into their living room added a lot of charm to their home, not to mention it smelled nice. Decorating it turned out to be much more fun than he’d anticipated; sitting by the fire with the other three and stringing popcorn to decorate the tree with was a soothing, relaxing venture broken only by the occasional fights to get Bendy to stop eating the damn stuff, which usually turned into throwing popcorn at each other.

They probably all ate more popcorn then they actually put on string, but thankfully, Henry had made a lot of popcorn.

Stringing the popcorn and the Christmas lightsonthe tree was an entirely separate adventure. After a lot of troubleshooting to make sure the electrical lights even still worked, Henry had to untangle Alice twice, Boris five or six times, Bendy no less than ten, and while he’d only needed to be untangled once, it took the three supernaturals twenty minutes to get that nightmare sorted out.

It was worth it for the finale. Holding Bendy up to put the tree topper on probably ranked within Henry’s top ten favorite moments in his life; the little demon lit up brighter than all the lights in the entire nearby town when he was chosen to have that honor this year, and that look remained as he placed the little star on the tree with probably more hesitant care then he’d ever employed in his entire life.

With the decorations done, they moved on to planning the food next. That mostly fell on Henry, but Alice was able to lend a hand, too. As it turned out, for those many years she stood as a leader in the citadel, tending to the survivors and protecting him, they had actually managed to celebrate Christmas. Very scant Christmases, with barely enough food, but the holiday had been acknowledged and those who had celebrated it before had educated her on what it was supposed to be like.

Gathering the ingredients they’d need for their special day was easy. Roast turkey, roast duck, mashed potatoes. Green beans. The look on Bendy and Alice’s face at all the food was painful; Alice stared with a quiet shock and Bendy wouldn’t stop babbling in sheer excitement.

The fact that Boris had nothing to say because he hadn’t been dealing with food shortages for fifteen years due to being dead was not much better.

He’d already been sure he was going to make this holiday the most amazing thing they’d ever seen in their lives, but now he was doubly sure. This would be the best day of their lives, bar none. God knew they deserved it.

Part of that would be the presents.

This brought them back to Santa.

Bendy chattered on and on about how he couldn’t wait for the magic human to come with gifts for them. It was kind of amazing; Henry would have guessed that Bendy would find the concept more creepy then delightful. The myth was about a stranger breaking into homes, after all, and it wasn’t like Bendy was very receptive to the idea of people invading his privacy.

But then again, it wasn’t like Bendy had gotten much time to just… be innocent. To believe in childish fairy tales. Any magic life might have held for him was sucked out pretty quickly. He wasn’t sure if he should let Bendy believe this next year but… what was the harm in letting the demon have a single Christmas where he genuinely believed a magic man in a red suit was going to leave him presents?

Henry panicked a little when Boris asked Bendy why Santa had never visited them before, but the little demon just looked at Boris with a raised eyebrow. “Because his magic wasn’t strong enough to get ‘im through that shithole, duh.”

Well… he couldn’t fault him for that logic. It kind of made sense, in a weird way.

And so everyone wrote letters to Santa, which Henry ‘delivered’ to town for them. Boris’s was a long letter about being grateful for his family and that being enough but if it wasn’t too much trouble, if Santa could bring him a trumpet. Alice’s was a very formal read, and it was obvious she didn’t believe she was actually writing to Santa, but she was willing to give it a try. The books she wanted wouldn’t be so hard to get, either.

Then it was time to read Bendy’s letter. Chuckling to himself as he opened the envelope, Henry tried to guess at what he might’ve asked for. A net, he decided; Bendy probably asked for a net. He’d been trying and failing for weeks to catch the flying insects around the farm.

At first I was going to ask for a bike.

Ah shoot; wrong guess- wow, his manner of writing was much more refined then how he talked. Did Joey teach him how to read and write?

Hell, even his handwriting was actually kind of… pretty? Delicate? Did Bendy even write this? Maybe he dictated to one of the others?

No, he’d seen Boris’s writing. Downright chicken scratch. And this wasn’t Alice’s handwriting, either. Huh.

But then I realized something I want more. I don’t need to ask for safety, or anything like that. Henry’s got it covered. I don’t need to ask for a lot of things, because Henry’s got it covered.

Fucking hell. This kid seriously trusted him. Swallowing was just a bit more difficult.

So it makes sense to ask for something he can’t give me, right? You’re magic, so what I want for Christmas is this.

Get rid of the branding.

His stomach fell.

My creator branded me at one point, to hammer it in that I was his property. He left a lot of scars and it was hard to choose between the branding and the scars on my wrists, but the branding has his actual name on it and I want it off. I don’t want to ever worry about someone seeing it again. He doesn’t own me. He doesn’t own me. His name doesn’t belong on my body.

I don’t care if I get nothing else this year. Just get this thing off me.

He just had to ask for the one thing Henry couldn’t do for him.

Property of Joey Drew. He remembered that brand; it was burned into his memory forever. And into Bendy’s back, near his left shoulderblade. It was one of the many reasons he wished Joey was still alive; every time he was reminded it was there it made him want to throttle the man all over again. “So I’d never forget who I belonged ta,” Bendy mumbled as an explanation once. He didn’t speak on it again, and neither did Henry. That topic was too painful to touch. For Bendy to acknowledge it at all, especially to someone he fully believed existed…

He really, really wanted this.

What was he going to do about it?

The days passed far too quickly. Boris and Alice’s gifts were, at least, easy to acquire. Just as well because the amount of stress he felt over Bendy’s was unbearable. He got the bike—he may as well, since it was mentioned—but what could he do about the rest?

He couldn’t let him down. He couldn’t.

Christmas Eve came. It was a pleasant dinner, a little pre-celebration before the day tomorrow. When the others went to bed, Henry took out paper and pen. Clearly, he was going to have to write something. But what? Some kind of apology? What the hell could he even say that wouldn’t be horribly half-baked?

Ugh. He needed to clear his head. With a grumble, he set down the pen and left his room.

The Christmas lights cast the living room in a soft red glow. Combined with the ornaments and the soft peacefulness of night, Henry had to admit- it was very charming. He didn’t bother to ask himself why he’d ever stopped doing this; he knew the answer to that already.

It was lucky, though, that he had a reason to take up this tradition again.

A snore interrupted his thoughts and he blinked, looking down. What in the world?

Crouching a bit, he squinted under the tree and then grinned. Curled up on his side like a little kid was Bendy, wrapped up in a blanket. No pillow. He must have counted on getting chilly, but not on falling asleep. The scamp probably wanted to catch Santa in the act.

Unfortunately for Bendy, the demon could and would pass out anywhere if he was tired enough.

“Hnnn… whu?” Whoops. It looked like Henry’s soft chuckle had woken him. Before he could move back and slip out unnoticed, large, dark eyes opened and fixed on him, sleepy and confused. “Henry?”

“Just me, bud. What’s up?”

Bendy yawned. “Waitin’ for Santa. Wanted ta see him. Thought-d” he paused, rubbing an eye and looking much more awake now, suddenly. “Thought his present might be easier delivered if I was up.”

Ah.

“Why’s that?”

Bendy frowned. “I can’t tell ya. Cause- then it won’t come true?”

“That’s birthday wishes, Ben.”

“… Well still.”

“Maybe you should go to bed? Sleeping on the floor can’t be comfortable.”

Now he looked even more awake. That was… the exact opposite of what he’d wanted, fantastic. “Nah. I gotta be here. It’s- important.”

“If I can’t ask what it is, can I ask why?”

Another frown, this one more contemplative. “… It means a lot ta me. Feel like it’ll help me feel better about- things.”

“Things like…?”

“… Well…” He glanced away. “Stuff Joey did. Things he said.”

“So I’d never forget who I belonged ta.” Piss off, Joey.

“You need to talk about it…?”

He shook his head and forced a bit of a wobbly smile. “Nah. It’s fine. ‘Sides, Christmas is supposed to be about happy, right? I’ll just- lay down here and wait.”

“Okay. I’ll… go back to my room then. See you in the morning?”

“See ya in the mornin’.” He laid back down and stretched with a yawn, staring up into the tree from underneath it.

Henry returned to his room. He knew what to write.

—

The branding was still there.

Christmas morning, the branding was still there. Even after trying to go back to sleep for a couple of minutes and checking upon waking again. It was still there.

There were a few packages in the room. He’d been here. But the brand was still there. Lead settled into his gut.

He smiled his way through the morning, opening the bike, pretending to be excited. He could feel the worried eyes of the other two on him; they knew him well enough. They knew he was pretending. He was about to turn around to attempt to turn up the act to eleven in order to convince them when he spotted the white envelope among the wrapping paper. The hell was this?

Pulling it free, he slit it open with a claw and extracted the letter from inside.

Bendy,

I’m sorry. Truly, truly sorry. I know how deeply you wanted this; I felt its ache all the way from the North Pole. But I regret to say my magic can’t do that. It’s not anything my magic was designed to do.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have anything to say, though.

You’ve suffered a lot. The world hasn’t been kind to you. You’ve got a lot of scars, both the kind that are visible on skin, and the kind visible in the way you live your life, how you react to certain things, how your

It’s a gross cruelty that he branded you like that, but here’s something he failed to consider. You are, in fact, a person. Not a tool, nor a toy. A person. You cannot be owned, cannot be defined by him. You will grow and change and become more than he ever was, far out of his reach. You are and will be more than he imagined for you. You will spit in his eye and move on with your life instead of succumbing to it. I have felt your strength, your sense of justice. It is a fire he could never extinguish. You love deeply and fiercely, and you will live on long after he has gone. The legacies you leave will outlive his.

You belong only to yourself. And you have proved this.

PS: I do hope you enjoy the bike. I had to finagle it a bit to be your size.

-Santa Claus

“Bendy you’re-!”

He looked up from the letter, aware suddenly that his cheeks were wet. Boris and Alice watched him, eyes wide with worry. One set of eyes, however, were not worried.

A lightbulb went off.

Setting the letter down, Henry let out an oof of surprise as he suddenly ended up with a lapful of demon and arms thrown around his neck.

“Bendy what-” Alice started

“Santa was nice this year,” he mumbled into Henry’s shoulder. His grip tightened. “R-real nice.”

The hunter returned the hug as Boris and Alice shared a look of dawning understanding. “… I’m glad to hear that, bud.”

It was going to be just as he promised. The best day of their lives.

And every day after that, too. As best as he could. Somehow… he was sure that would be enough.

I’m assuming that like, the Inkborne au story derives more from Bendy and the Ink Machine (or specifically, what we’re all hoping from that game’s ending) rather than Bloodborne because I looked it up and Bloodborne’s endings are… weird. And involve deities and stuff.

To avoid any further spoilers about Bloodborne, I’ll just say that I really wanted to enjoy a story about a demon hunter who Didn’t Sign Up For This Shit, Exactly and his unconventional son, and their misadventures in trying to escape an inky death hellscape, in which said demon hunter ends up with two more kids and eventually manages to fix the problem, escape with his new kids, and figure out life from there. And so that’s what I wrote about here. Let the family live pls.

I tried to be period-accurate most of the time in this. Was shocked to find that electric lighting and Christmas tree lights were in fact used in the Victorian era (1837-1901). In fact, everything in this is accurate to the era in which Inkborne is set, I think. Kinda pleased with myself.

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25 days of Reylo, Count Down to the Holidays 2!

Decorating for Us.

AN: This should have been posted on December 2nd but I fell behind. Here is day two of 25 days of Reylo Countdown to the Holidays!

No Trigger Warnings.

This is Modern AU, Ben Solo and Rey. Established Relationship and Christmas fluff. The theme is opposites attract and domestic love in Christmas Decoration.

Happy Reading!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rey woke up to the helpless squeaking of Ben's cat Darth Squeaks. Squeaks was a large fluffy black cat, who for being blind, knew exactly where Ben's nose was to pat him with his paws. The black haired giant of a man, mumbled to himself, batting the cat away. Rey giggled and shook his shoulders, “Someone is hungry, you feed the furbaby and I will get us breakfast.” she kissed his temple. He sighed but obeyed. He pulled their dark purple comforter and lavender cotton sheets off and swung his legs over the bed and into his black slippers. Squeaks chirped happily as he jumped down and trotted to his food bowl on the carpet by their closet. Rey gawked at him, he was only his his black boxers, his toned body on display for her. He grabbed the cat's food bowl and went to the kitchen.

Rey got out of bed, her pajama pants were snowmen and shirt had a penguin with a santa hat on. She dressed into black leggings that had snowmen and snowflakes on them and a thin grey sweater. She put her hair up in a sloppy bun and placed on her Christmas lights necklace. She slipped into her penguin in ugly sweater slippers and met Ben in the hallway. His eyes were still half down, he smiled at her and then made kissy noises so Squeaks would follow him back down the hall. Rey made them beacon and eggs with toast.

“I made the bed, we should change the sheets tomorrow.” Ben's voice was husky with sleep, he had his semi-rimless black glasses on, a plain navy tee and his paint stained work jeans. He saw his black mug with black coffee sitting next to a plate of scrambled eggs. He smiled and kissed her, taking a seat next to her at the island countertop in their Kitchen. “Thanks for breakfast.”

With over easy egg on her toast in her mouth she nodded and with her mouth half full said, “Welcome hun, tank yov for makin da bed.”

He bit back a laugh and opted for their topic of the day, “Well, Squeaks is fed, we're about to be fed, it's Saturday morning on December 2nd, why don't we decorate for Christmas?”

She licked her fingers but paused at the last part of his sentence. Her eyes went wide and brightened, she gasped, “Yes! Yes, November just slipped by so fast I didn't even think! I'll go get my stuff from the shed.” they finished their meal in comfortable silence. Ben taking their plates and places them and the frying pan into the dishwasher. Their cat jumped nimbly onto the island and laid onto his back to receive belly rubs from Rey and Ben.

They went to their shed in the backyard. It was mostly Ben things, childhood toys, photo albums, note books of old writings, his high school and college year books and other memorabilia, then there was the Halloween decorations and Chritmas. Ben had one large plastic container and Rey had a shoe box. It started hitting her as Ben closed and locked the shed and went back inside with her that she didn't have a lot. He placed his large box down, opened it and got out white icicle lights, a 4ft plastic Christmas Tree, a shoe box that had very childish handwriting that said, 'Ben Organa-Solo's Ordaments'. She stifled her laughter at the misspelling and the image of a small Ben with ears he didn't quite grow into yet scribbling this onto his box. There was a few more things, wrapping paper and bows as well as bag for gifts, a small musical merry-go-round and his Christmas Stocking that was hand knitted by his mother.

He turned to her, gesturing for her to open up her box. It was mostly ornaments, pictures of her and Poe when they were teenagers, another of her Finn and Poe in University. She had a cloth calendar in the shape of a Christmas tree with red pockets and toys drawn on the pockets- there was even a little stuffed Santa that kept the date while peeking out to see if you're bad or good. Ben sat there at her attention, asking her about her things and letting her put them where she'd like.

The tree went first, on the coffee table in the living room, he put sliver tinsel around it to make it fuller. They carefully arranged their ornaments, heed taken to not over crowd. He let Rey twist the Merry-go-round music and put it on the island of the kitchen as a center piece. It played jingle bells a little faster than she thought it would. Outside with ladders and laughs they hung the icicle lights. In the windows they used command hooks to get blue lights in the large living room window that faced the street.

Ben, content with the minimal décor, poured water into her red kettle and placed it on the stove top. He busied himself with getting the coco mixes and marshmallows. Rey tried to keep smiling, there was nothing that separated the L-Shape of the dinning room, kitchen and living room, she stood at the glass dinning room table and stared around. It didn't look right. When she lived with her adoptive brother, Poe, the Dameron's house was full to the brim with decorations. The tree was huge and real, there was a tree skirt, signs that said things like 'This House Believes' on every surface of wall space, over mitts and wash cloths all Christmas themed.

He noticed. The kettle screamed, he turned the heat off, poured their coco and placed Marshmallows in hers and two in his. He squirted caramel twice in his and she absentmindedly asked him to put whip cream as well as caramel sauce on top. She took it from him and peeled her eyes away to narrow in on the only Christmas item in the kitchen. Ben cleared his throat to get her attention. “What's the matter, Sweetheart?”

“This doesn't seem very Christmasy- it's our place but with a tree, some lights and three trinkets.” she mumbled.

He pried, “What makes you say that?”

“The Damerons had so much, Poe and I felt like it changed to some sort of winter wonderland over night.”

Ben paused, he thought of his words carefully, “As you know, I'm a minimalist, and as you know I usually only go all out for Halloween-” he glanced her way to see her attentively listening, “Christmas can leave a bad taste in my mouth, it wasn't always happy for me- Mom tried her best, over doing it in some ways. Mostly to make the both of us feel better when Han ditched us. In fact the Christmas when I was fifteen, I spent it holding my mother as she sobbed. My mother wanted marriage counseling, my father told her he'd sign the divorce papers, he wasn't good enough for her.” the bad taste was in his mouth then, “He was right, he's not good enough for my mother, but I wish he would have listened to her- because as much as it pains me to say it they work in their own sort of strange way and he made her happy at some point.”

“I'm sorry Ben.”

He scratched the back of his head and rubbed his neck, “Sorry, that was much to heavy for this morning and I lost track of my point, my point is- we're not my parents and do you want to go Christmas shopping?”

Her eyes light up brighter than the light they hung. “Yes!”

“Let's go to Target then.” he grabbed their mugs and deposited them into the dishwasher.

“Won't that get expensive.” He glanced at her, “I am the author of four New York Time best selling novels and working on a just finished one of a three part series that Armitage says is going to be another, and my mother is a Senator, I think I can handle a trip to Target.” he bragged. “Besides, with all the work you're putting me to, you could buy us dinner.”

“Hawiian BBQ?”

“You know me so well.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chicken, pulled pork, and beef with white rice and veggies. The smell was savory, making both their mouths water. They split the food, Rey guzzling her orange soda and Ben with his Dr Pepper. There was a small army of target bags at their feet and the afternoon seemed to have gone away, the sun would set soon. Once bellies were full, Rey sprung into action. She was replaced the over mitts with red ones that had cute snowmen, a kitchen towel to match. In the bathroom, which normal held a grey and purple theme was slowly transformed into a pink, rose gold, Christmas corner, a gold glittering Reindeer on the counter with the sink, rose gold Christmas Trees and cream colored towels. The dinning room received a tiny black tree decorated with old school game console controllers. Signs with cute sayings and sweet pictures were put up with command hooks. Another tiny green Christmas Tree was put in the living room with the HO HO HO red pillows on their chocolate brown couch. Fleece throws over the two lazy boys, one being beige in color with black cats in scarves playing with colorful yarn balls the other one black with little dogs in hat playing with balls. Gold, red, and sliver tinsel everywhere. And last a velvet rich red tree skirt. Squeaks sniffed the tree skirt and then jumped onto the coffee table and snuggled under the tree for a nap. Ben took a picture on his phone, “Squeaks seal of approval.”

She smiled down at the feline, she turned to Ben, “This could just be my Christmas gift this year, you spent a lot on me.”

“I spent a lot on us, seeing your excitement is enough.” he blew her off.

She grabbed his hand, “No, really, thank you. Don't get me anything else for Christmas.”

He glanced at her and kissed the back of her hand, “I am driving for us now, not me, besides, you really made this place feel like a Hallmark movie.”

“You hate Hallmark movies.”

“I'd watch this one.” he said with a wink.

She smirked and then glanced at the tree. She played with one of his Ornaments, she giggled and thought to herself 'ordaments'. She then realized she didn't really appreciate the decorating of the tree. A knot twisted and sunk in her stomach. She had been so consumed with how much decorating was that she forgot just to slow down and enjoy it with him. She started taking them down. He seemed disgruntled when he asked, “What are you doing, Rey?”

“I want a redo, can I have that?” she snapped- she winced then, she hadn't meant to snap. “Sorry, I got embarrassed. I spent so much time thinking about Christmas with The Damerons that I forgot this is our Christmas.”

“Hmm...” he eyed her before he nodded with a smile.

She laid them out into a pile of his and hers. He picked one up, it was of a crown. “What's with the crown?” Rey asked.

“My maternal grandfather called her his princess, so when I was born she told me I was a prince.”

she snorted, “Started your ego young I see.”

He chuckled, “Your turn.”

She picked up a Saguaro that had a Santa hat on it, “This is from when I was 13, they adopted me around Christmas time and did this to remember where I came from. Arizona was a rough place but I came to live here in Washington it really was greener on the other side, but I was to remember where I came from.” she put it just above his crown on the tree. “You next, but only the ones that mean something.”

He picked up a one of a Sword and Shield, “Han gave this to me before the real problems began between him and my Mother, he told me that chivalry didn't die with me.”

She grabbed an airplane, “Poe gave this to me after he came back from his first deployment.”

He picked up the last unique ornament on his end, the others simply being glass orbs of red, gold and clear with glittering white. It was of a Quill, “Mom gave this to me when I published my first book.”

She grabbed her last unique ornament that wasn't red and green plastic orbs, it was a gold glittering key, “Dad gave this to me when I graduating University, he said this was the key to the world of possibilities I opened myself up for. “ She placed it next to his quill. They hugged before finishing the redecorating.

It was going on seven at night, Squeaks stretched on the tree skirt and began to beg. Jumping gracefully from the coffee table and onto the couch with them. Bumping their hands with his cold little wet nose and demanding their pets. “Someone is hungry.” Ben said, picking up the fluff ball and cooing to him. Rey left to feed him, mixing in his beef wet food with his dry food. Squeak wiggled desperately out of Ben's arms when he heard his meal being prepared. He trotted down the hall after Rey, leaving Ben alone with his thoughts.

He spotted Rey coming back down the hall. She stretched her arms up and asked him if he wanted some coco. He agreed and watched her. He thought to himself, this was going to be the Best Christmas.

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Chapter 47: Sometimes I Can’t See Myself

Rating: T Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Bellamy x Clarke Chapter: 47/68 Word Count: 3319 Words

Chapter Summary:The one where they celebrate one last Christmas in the house.

Also on AO3; Start from the beginning on AO3

Packing would have been easier if Bellamy and Octavia could get along for five minutes. Aurora had been very clear in her will that she intended for them to have an estate sale and sell the house. They could use the money to pay off any remaining hospital bills and then split the rest between the two of them. Neither of them needed any of the furniture, to Bellamy’s chagrin, and Clarke cringed every time he tried to keep something else. The couch probably caused the worst argument (“Both our couches are newer than this one.”), followed closely by the refrigerator (“We’re both renting, Bell!”).

The plan was to use the first couple weeks of winter break to sort through everything in the house and have the estate sale right before Christmas. Clarke agreed with Octavia on her point that people might want to come to look for presents. They set up boxes for things to sell and for things to keep, which made Bellamy happy, but they had to work to keep him practical. In the end, there weren’t too many surprises for them to find, although the eight sewing machines (two of which were antiques) seemed a little excessive. Bellamy got mad when O didn’t want to keep one and she got mad in return when he tried to keep two (“You’re going to want one of them one of these days, I swear!”)

It was obvious from the start that Bellamy wasn’t entirely on board with the plan. One night before bed (he only stayed over a few nights a week, even though sometimes he called her at two in the morning and asked if he could come over, it was something she would do for anyone), she found him making a spreadsheet with different storage unit options. He snapped at her when she told him he was being unrealistic. She thought about showing him the box of her dad’s stuff that she kept hidden in the back of her closet, but she was too mad at him to share it in the moment. They went to sleep on opposite sides of the bed that night, but when she woke up, she had practically burrowed into Bellamy’s back.

The estate sale ended up going pretty smoothly, mostly because Bellamy stayed away for most of the day. There were a few things they’d need to dispose of (Bellamy’s old mattress and a couple boxes of older clothes), but it had brought in a nice bit of extra money. All of their friends had opted to stay in town for winter break to help pack up the rest of the house and clean before the realtor put it on the market.

The hardest thing was finding a way to get Bellamy and Octavia out of the house for a couple of hours. It was astonishingly hard to convince someone to leave their childhood home when they would be selling it soon, but Wells swooped in and saved the day. Clarke and Miller pretended that they would meet everyone at lunch, but stayed behind to put Clarke’s plan into action. Everyone wanted to help, but any more of them staying behind would have been too suspicious.

Bellamy couldn’t help his mood. He tried to get himself out of it, but was just angry. It had been his almost constant mood for going on a month. He was angry at his mom for dying, for leaving hospital bills behind, at Octavia for convincing him that selling the house was actually the correct route, and at Clarke and Miller for not showing up at the lunch they had suggested. It was hard not to take it out on his friends, he knew he wasn’t actually mad at them, so he spent most of his lunch picking at his food and ignoring everyone.

It got harder not to take it out on them with Wells constantly on his phone, making excuses about why they couldn’t go home yet. He even dragged them to the grocery store, because of Clarke’s insistence that everyone do Christmas dinner at her apartment. Apparently, this had been her plan all along, but she forgot to go shopping. Bellamy wouldn’t have bought it, but the shopping list Wells recited was obnoxiously Christmas-like. It was all so stupid that he refused to go into the store. He did at least try to carry groceries into the house, but Harper had a really mean glare and pushed him away.

“Go inside.”

“But I can help.”

“No, you can’t. Go get Clarke for me. She can help.”

He didn’t get why Clarke could help, but he couldn’t, so he glared back at her before walking up the porch and through the door where everything was literally sparkling.

“What is this?” Bellamy stopped dead in his tracks and stared, his anger melting into confusion.

“Clarke!” Octavia sprinted past Bellamy. “Where are – oh!” There was a loud squealing from the kitchen. “How did you do all this?!”

Their conversation from the kitchen faded into the background as Bellamy took in the room in front of him. He had a clear view of the living room and there was a bare Christmas tree with presents underneath. Garlands and lights decorated the stairwell and doorframes. The scent of cinnamon and cookies baking filled the air. It was only moderately less decorated than it would have been if his mother were there.

“Should I not have done this?”

Bellamy jumped. He hadn’t noticed Clarke come out of the kitchen. She studied him from a few feet away, picking at her nails. There were things he wanted to say, questions he wanted to ask, but nothing would come out.

“I wanted….” She trailed off and looked down at the floor. “It’s been a hard month and I just wanted you to have at least one more happy memory in this house before… you know.”

It took a moment for his voice to work properly. “How did you do all this?”

Clarke looked up again and shrugged. “Miller helped.”

“And you two did all this,” he gestured at nothing in general, “in two and a half hours.”

“Well, I saved the Christmas tree for everyone. That helped cut down on the timing.”

Bellamy murmured assent and looked around again. It was something he hadn’t considered doing, because it hurt too much, but he really couldn’t think of a better way to spend one of their last nights in the house.

“Are you mad?”

He realized he was frowning and immediately felt guilty. It only took a few steps to close the distance between them. He pulled her in for a tight hug and had to stop himself from kissing the top of her head when she wrapped her arms around his waist. It was a habit he needed to get out of. Instead, he settled for resting his cheek on top of her head and felt her laugh into his ribs.

“I was really worried you wouldn’t like it.”

“Well, you’re dumb.”

She pinched his side. “You’re high maintenance and you know it.”

Bellamy laughed and pulled away, but kept an arm around Clarke as he turned toward the Christmas tree again. “I hope all those presents aren’t from you.”

“I remembered the rules. Under twenty dollars and only for secret Santa.” She paused, chewing on her lip. “Well, and for you and O, of course, but those are upstairs.”

He laughed again. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist, which is why I bought you something, too.”

Clarke punched her free arm into the air. “Yes! I knew it.”

A shriek from the kitchen interrupted Bellamy’s retort and he pulled Clarke behind him. He was about to run in there, but stopped when Clarke almost fell over laughing. When she could finally meet his eyes, she was wiping tears away.

“I almost forgot that I actually arranged another surprise for you guys. Miller had nothing to do with this one, so I get all the credit this time.”

Bellamy eyed her carefully before walking into the kitchen. Octavia and Raven were too busy hugging and jumping in a circle to notice him. Clarke squeezed into the doorway next to him with a huge grin on her face and he elbowed her gently. “You’re really something else.”

“I know.” He elbowed her again and she just laughed. “Go say hi.”

The other two were done with their greeting and Raven was staring at him with a sad smile. He hugged her and grunted when she squeezed him hard instead of letting him go.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t come for the funeral,” she whispered into his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it.” He squeezed her and pushed out of the hug, a hand on each of her shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here now.”

Raven grinned then and gave him another quick hug before Clarke started assigning everyone to their stations.

Thanks to cooking utensils Miller and Clarke brought, everyone cooked dinner together. The kitchen was too cramped, everyone ended up arguing at least once, Bellamy had to take the tongs away from Jasper twice, but it turned out pretty well. Everyone sat in a circle in the living room, eating off of paper plates, but they were all together.

It hit Clarke in that moment that it was the first time in about three months that they had all been together as a group. Miller was still stuck working nights and Harper was almost always with her study group for law school or helping Wells with his LSATs. Lincoln’s friend just got back from studying abroad, so he’d been spending more time hanging out with that group, which took Octavia away a lot as well. There hadn’t been time for a movie night that quarter and it was frustrating.

But that moment made her feel like things would be okay. The fact that everyone made it for Christmas Eve meant that they would always be there for each other when it mattered most.

Octavia led most of the group in constructing a giant blanket fort so everyone could sleep on the floor. Jasper ran off to the kitchen and came back with assorted pots, pans, and boxes (“We’re going to catch Santa!”). Monty and Raven laughed, but started helping him build the trap he had concocted in his mind.

Gradually, everyone changed into their pajamas and started to settle down. It was almost one in the morning when everyone had picked a spot on the floor. Bellamy was suspiciously absent. Clarke found him in the kitchen, decorating gingerbread people with the bright neon frosting Octavia and Harper had insisted on making (and then hadn’t used).

She walked up and rested her chin in her hands. “That’s an awful lot of gingerbread people.”

“That’s because there’s one for each of us.” He smirked.

Clarke leaned forward and realized that he was, in fact, decorating one to look like each of them. They were indistinguishable except for the clothes. “You can’t really tell Lincoln and Miller apart. Maybe give Lincoln his old mohawk. O’s been trying to convince him to grow it back. Maybe your additional support will be encouraging.”

Bellamy stuck his tongue out her, but obliged.

“You can’t tell me and Harper apart, either.”

“I can definitely tell ginger-Clarke and ginger-Harper apart.”

“How?”

He pointed at one of them and that’s when she noticed tiny different colored flecks on “her” hands. There was even one on “her” face.

“I’m not that messy when I paint. You’re rude, you know that?”

He grinned and finished off what she assumed was Raven. The red jacket was the only real clue there. “Are they all ready for bed in there?”

“They’re settling down a little. I think it’ll take some time for Jasper to tire out. Monty swears they don’t actually believe in Santa anymore, but I’m not sure I buy it.”

“Yeah, and Raven was a little too ready to help build that trap.” He carefully set his decorated cookies on top of the large Tupperware holding more undecorated ones. “So, did you just come in here to check up on me?”

“Well, your bed is still here. I’m not putting it past you to wait for the rest of us to fall asleep and sneak up there where it’s actually comfortable.”

“You really know me too well.” He smiled again and glanced at the clock. “Since it’s technically Christmas, do you want to do presents?”

“Yes!” Clarke jumped up and tried to drag Bellamy out of the kitchen. “Where’s my present?”

Since they had both hidden each other’s gifts upstairs, they quietly snuck through the hall and up the stairs to retrieve them. Clarke was so proud of the gift she found for him. It was something he’d never expect, but she knew from the moment she found out that it existed that he would love it. Still, her heart pounded a little harder than necessary when she walked into his room clutching it to her chest.

Bellamy was sitting next to a huge wrapped box on his bed, fidgeting with one of the corners. His hand froze when he noticed her and he looked up with a tight smile. Clarke sat down facing him on the opposite end of the bed with his present in her lap. He turned toward her and folded his legs underneath himself.

“Why does giving presents have to be so stressful?”

“Because of the fear that you don’t know someone as well as you think you do.” He pulled his eyes away from hers and pushed the giant box toward her. “Open yours first.”

The wrapping was immaculate, which meant he did it himself. Octavia was horrible at wrapping presents, even though she loved it. It was sad, really. There was always tape everywhere and weird folds where there shouldn’t be. Clarke felt a little guilty tearing the paper, so she slid her nails under the tape where she could and slowly pulled the paper away.

A breath caught in her throat. “Oh my god.” She glanced up and Bellamy looked a little more confident, a small smile growing on his face. It was a full-size table easel set. She traced the box with her fingers and she read the list of contents on the front. “This is so amazing, Bell!”

“You keep complaining about not having enough space in your apartment to paint, so I thought this might help.” He laughed weakly. “I tried to get you one without all the beginner’s books included, but this one looked like it was the best anyway. It’s basically an easel on a box, so you can store some of your brushes and things in there. And it came with a new mixing tray and a new palette, which I thought you said you needed.”

Clarke couldn’t contain her grin. “You know what a palette is.”

“I listen.” He shrugged, but he looked down. She could still see the blush rising in his cheeks.

“This had to be expensive,” she blurted out before she could stop herself. It was hypocritical, considering what his present had cost her, but with how small it was, she thought she could hide the price.

“I did come into a very mediocre inheritance recently.” He choked on the last couple words.

It was obviously meant to be a joke, but it was too soon. Clarke set his still-wrapped gift to the side and leaned over to hug him. He pulled her closer and mumbled assurances that he was okay into her hair. But she realized she was in his lap and she was not okay. She pulled away and practically shoved his gift into his hands to try to hide the fact that she was blushing.

“After how huge your present was, I feel kind of silly that this is so small.”

“Knowing you, this was at least as much as what I got you.” He smiled again. “Next year, I think we need to set a price limit, yeah?”

She nodded and tapped the present he still hadn’t opened. He laughed again, which filled her to the brim with joy, because he had a beautiful laugh. It was cut short by his sharp inhale when he pulled the paper away.

“Fuck, Clarke, is this what I think it is?”

“I don’t know! What do you think it is?”

“This is the letter about the secession of the Patriots from a member of parliament to his friend who couldn’t be there at the time. This was right before the—“

“War of Jenkins’ Ear. I listen, too. You didn’t stop talking about it for almost three weeks after your senior seminar last year.”

He turned the small book over in his hands gently. “Shit, is this a first edition? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Seriously. I wasn’t kidding when I said you didn’t stop talking about it for three weeks. I wanted to find a full compilation of the meeting for you, but I had a hard enough time finding this.”

Clarke stared down at the book, waiting for him to start looking through it, but she realized he wasn’t looking at it anymore. She looked up and everything else around her disappeared. The way he was looking at her made me feel like she might actually be the most important person in the world to someone. It gave her so much hope and it was amazing and overwhelming and almost too much. The silence was too heavy and she needed to break it before it grew into her making a fool out of herself.

“Okay, do you like it? Because you’re not saying anything and you’re scaring me a little.”

Whatever trance he was in broke and he chuckled quietly as he set the book down on top of her present. He wrapped his arms around her again and buried his nose into her shoulder. “It’s amazing, Clarke. Thank you. For everything.”

“You’re really hard to shop for, you know that?”

“I don’t just mean the book.” She kept waiting for him to drop his arms, but he didn’t. They tightened instead, and he settled his chin on her shoulder. “For the book. For decorating the house. For… for all the help this past month. I don’t know where O and I would be without you. I was so scared of Christmas this year, because…. You made it happen and I was going to ignore it and I don’t think I can thank you enough.”

She’d give everything to make his life better. She tried to find the words to say it, but nothing sounded right in her head. Every sentence that she tried to form sounded too much like admitting she had a crush on him. She didn’t even want to admit it to herself, yet, even if she knew it lurked in the shadows of her heart. The only time she ever let herself think of the possibility was when there were walls and doors and miles separating them. Her heart ached as she climbed into his lap again and they sat that way for a long time while he talked about the old traditions he would miss without his mom and the ways he might be able to keep them alive.

By the time they made their way back downstairs, everyone else was asleep. They quietly slid into the spaces that their friends had left them and fell asleep quickly.

Jasper woke everyone up the next morning with unhappy exclamations over his failed Santa trap and she and Bellamy were tangled together once again. That was when Clarke knew they would have to stop sleeping together. At least, they would have to stop soon. It was blurring lines in her head and she couldn’t be what he needed her to be if those lines disappeared.

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christmas memories

For my bae friend, Oli c:

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“My favorite what?” Noctis asked, nose wrinkling in distaste at the question.

“Your favorite Christmas memory.” Ignis repeated, matter-of-factly. Prompto was bouncing where he sat in black sweats and a black hoodie - everyone was wearing similar clothes. It was cold, since it was apparently Christmas Eve, and snowing outside to boot. Gladiolus had insisted they camp just once in the snow, so there they were. Prompto’s movements along with the hot chocolate he’d been drinking ensured he stayed warm. Gladiolus ever had his hoodie unzipped, claiming that being in the tent with so many people made it plenty warm. Ignis was in the same black pants and hoodie, and Noctis…

Well, Noctis was wearing it as well, under the three blankets wrapped around him so only his face and his small hands, clutching at a cup of warm coffee as though his life depended on it, were visible.

“I’ll go first!” Prompto volunteered from his seat on one of the sleeping bags. Ignis was the only one in a chair, one leg crossed properly over the other. Gladio was sitting directly on the floor portion of their tent, and Noctis was sitting on two sleeping bags. Not to mention on the blankets wrapped around him.

“So as you guys know my childhood wasn’t.. Always exactly the best.” He started, staring down at his empty mug of chocolate before looking back up, a huge grin on his face anyways. Of course they all knew that - Prompto had just shown up one day in Insomnia. He remembered his name, but that was all, so he’d automatically gone into their lower class. Food and housing and clothes were provided for him, but only gifts that were donated from upper class citizens were given as presents. Nothing specifically for him.

Until…

“But after I met Noct he invited me to the Palace for Christmas break.” He was back to bouncing slightly, knees jiggling as he sat. “It was so beautiful, lit up and decorated for Christmas, the food was amazing, and I got my first real presents that year.” He smiled proudly, looking each of them in the eye. “I remember what each of you gave me, too.” He said it like a challenge, and while Ignis was fully prepared to just believe him, Gladiolus scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“All right then, what did we get you?” He challenged, remembering this was about six or seven years ago. No way Prompto could remember all three of the gifts.

But the teen just smirked, eyes dancing as someone rose to the bait. “You got me a book. I thought it was unbelievable that you got me a book instead of Ignis - it was all about defensive techniques, since I’d told you I wanted to get stronger to be able to protect people.” It was no secret he’d wanted to be on the Crownsguard since he met Noctis, but everyone just let the word ‘people’ slide.

“Iggy got me a sweater. A really nice one, black, with the Lucian symbol on the back.” Ignis merely nodded as he sipped his tea. The gifts all had a theme - in the first year they’d known Prompto, and for every year since, it had been his dream to join them. Ignis was the Prince’s adviser from birth, Gladiolus came from a long line of Kings Shields, and he was no exception as the oldest in his family. But Prompto was just a friend who offered nothing, or so he felt.

“Noctis got me a BB gun, so we could practice aiming together,” Since that was what he’d been learning at the time, “and a hand-blown Chocobo. Along with that…” He grinned, Noctis already groaning, pressing his forehead to his knees. “A wooden chocobo figurine he’d whittled and painted himself°” He crooned, grinning.

It had looked terrible. Noctis had been learning whittling at the time - not that he saw even the slightest use for it. But he’d bought the glass chocobo figure and wanted to use it as a model. “Of all the things I hope are fine in Insomnia, I hope that was destroyed.” He said to his lap, shaking his head but not denying the smirk that fell upon his lips.

By the time he looked up it was gone, but it didn’t matter, Prompto was smiling enough for the both of them. “Maybe.” The gunner suggested with a shrug. It was a lie, the Prince could tell from just the slightest glimmer in the blonde’s eye. Hopefully that wouldn’t come back to bite him later…

What he didn’t tell the Prince was it was in his backpack, right now, mere feet from all of them.

Ignis nodded. “You’ve spent every Christmas at the palace since then, if I recall. Well, until now.” He commented, taking another sip from his tea. He’d be needing coffee soon, if they really were going to stay up late enough to see if some sort of Santa Claus demon appeared. “Gladio, would you like to go next?” He asked. Maybe that would help him stay awake.

“Sure.” Gladio said, leaning back on his hands, palms flat against the ground. “I was twelve, so it was long before we met this pipsqueak.” His tone and visage denied his words as he jerked his head to Prompto, smiling with an affectionate in his eyes.

“My old man said I’d been doing so well with my sword, and practicing with me wooden Greatsword that he got me my first one.” The guardian commented easily, smiling. “Iris got me a new set of gloves for them, too. Since they were new, not broken in at all.” He commented, pulling his hands up and rubbing them as if remembering years of countless blisters as he broke in new handles.

“Oh yeah.” Noctis said, looking up. “I remember that Christmas.” He set his coffee mug next to him, letting his head and arms be exposed from the blankets for just a moment. “I got you a charm for the sword. Clarus wanted everything to be related to it. My pop gave you the matching shield.”

Gladiolus seemed to puff at the fact that Noctis remembered, but nodded nonetheless. “I still have that charm.” He said it almost like a threat, one foot kicking out to nudge at the well padded Prince. It was true though - he kept it on that Greatsword instead of transferring it to his more used ones now, just in case something happened. “It was a key, right?” He asked like he didn’t know, but Noctis knew for a fact the man remembered. He’d given Noctis a shield charm with a keyhole in it for his first Greatsword.

“Yeah.” He answered anyways, one free arm reaching out to shoo away the prodding foot. He didn’t say it then, but Regis had always told him ‘that man is the most important man in all of Insomnia.’ Initially he would point at Clarus when he said it, but once Gladiolus was old enough to protect Noctis - tiny three-year-old Noctis - he would shift his finger to the Shield. There was a slew of reasons why, the king would go on and on, a new one each time. But it had stuck with Noctis, for the most part.

“I’m cold.” Prompto whined in the growing silence. There was a pause, then Noctis sighed and opened one side of the blankets, shifting so there was plenty for the other small man to join him. Promto did in an instant, wrapping the blankets around, so suddenly only their two faces were visible.

Gladiolus’s foot had retreated, and with everyone once more settled, the prince looked to Ignis. “What about you, Specks?”

Ignis pushed his glasses up subconsciously, before making a noise of thoughtfulness in the back of his throat. “Four years ago.” He commented easily. Noctis would have been twelve, and tilted his head curiously. Before anyone could ask though, the man continued.

“It was the first year we celebrated Christmas not only as advisor and prince, but as friends and comrades.” Was his easy explanation, looking mostly at Noctis, and then at Gladiolus too, before his gaze drifted to Prompto. It had been Prompto’s first Christmas at the Palace that year, and they’d been together for the first time like that, able to just enjoy one another’s company.

“After that Christmas I was suddenly involved in all your trouble making, and getting blamed twice as much as I used to.” He said indignantly, downing the last dregs of his tea and settling the mug on the ground.

Noctis gave a little chuckle, letting his head fall onto Prompto’s shoulder. “You always used to take the fall for me. Even when I was little.” He said it appreciatively, even if he didn’t thank the man, and Ignis merely replied with a ‘hm’ noise.

“What about you, Noctis? You’ve had plenty of nice Christmases.” Ignis moved the topic along, glancing at his watch. There was still fifteen minutes until midnight.

The Prince shrugged, made difficult only by his closeness to Prompto and the fact that they were thoroughly burritoed into their blankets. “Sure, nice Christmases. I guess. I don’t have a favorite, though.” He seemed a little downtrodden, blue eyes tracking over to the small pile of presents they’d all gotten for each other.

“Why not? All too good, Prince Charming?” He tried to sound snarky as he said it, but the last two words sounded more truthful than anything.

Noctis glanced at him, almost curiously, before letting it go. “Regis was never around for any of them that I remember. He was always too busy. So… I’d say one with my mom, but they never intersect one with you guys.” He shrugged. “They’ve all been fine, but it’s just that. Fine. None of them really stand out.” Was his excuse.

A moment of silence pressed in around them, Prompto snaking his arms around the Prince’s middle and hugging him.

But then there was a noise. A sudden gust of wind that almost threatened to tear their tent from its stakes. Gladio was on his feet in an instant, looking around despite the darkness. The wind died after a moment, and the Shield relaxed with it. “Don’t worry. It’ll take more than just a little wind to bring this tent down.” He smirked, smug. But outside, the wind accepted the challenge.

It was only seconds later before the tent was ripped right up from the rock, a massive daemon there scooping up whatever he saw first - Noctis and Prompto, trapped in their blankets and unable to draw any weapons.

“Ah-!” “Hey!” Were their cries of indignance, Ignis and Gladiolus both on their feet, weapons drawn and turning towards the daemon. But he was already gone. Large though he may have been, he was also quick, disappearing into the night with the Prince and his Pauper.

Gladiolus stared into the night, making a slow circle to try and figure out which way to go. With no moon, they both turned on their flashlights, praying something would become obvious then.

“Shit.” Gladiolus muttered, Ignis reaching a hand down to grab the Shield’s, squeezing.

“What poor timing.” He grumbled, his free hand readjusting his glasses. “To think, we were planning on telling Noctis about us three tonight…” He muttered.

They hadn’t been together long, the three of them. Maybe three weeks now, keeping it from their Prince for plenty of reasons. The first, they all wanted him as well - but he was betrothed, so they only wanted to tell him when they could all three keep from blurting out their true feelings about the prince.

The second, Noctis was betrothed and not the most pleased about it. He and Luna were friends, and he’d seen the love his parents - another arranged married - had for each other. But he still avoided the topic at all costs, not wanting to rub it in their faces. But they would be setting sail for Altissia soon, and the Prince deserved to know everything before going to what would still hopefully be his wedding to seal.. Well, nothing. To seal the Oracle and the Astrals to the Kings of Lucis, at this point.

“There.” Gladiolus’s voice pulled him from his reverie, giving one last squeeze to their clasped hands before letting go, and running down to what he’d seen - a single broken tree branch. They carried on in that direction until they heard a noise, immediately turning towards it. It only took perhaps five minutes before they found a cave, both pausing outside for a moment.

“You okay?” Gladio asked, greatsword materializing in his hand.

“Does it matter?” Was Ignis’s reply, not waiting for an answer as he charged into the cavern, guns drawn, prepared to fight.

Gladiolus made a slight scoff at not being first in, and so followed soon after, diving deeper into the impending darkness. It didn’t take long to reach the main cavern, both spinning and looking for anything - the demon or their compatriots.

“Uhm, help?” A soft voice called from above. Both men immediately directed their flashlights up, where they could see Noctis and Prompto suspended upside down by what seemed to be spider webbing.

“Are you both all right?” Ignis called up first, one hand on Gladiolus’s arm to still the Shield from hunting down the demon.

“Yeah.” Where it had been Prompto’s voice before, now it was Noctis’s. “Just a little banged around.” They were both wrapped separately, blankets nowhere to be seen. And Ignis was thanking the Astrals that both had been wearing full sweatpants and sweatshirts. Spider webs could be vicious, especially at that size.

“Where is the demon?” Now it was Gladio’s time to ask, even as he moved to stand underneath the closest wrapped body - Prompto, it seemed. Ignis aimed carefully, pulling the trigger one, twice, thrice.

The web snapped and Prompto plummeted to the ground with a yell, despite landing safely in the Shield’s arms. “Thank the Six,” Prompto muttered, pressing a forehead to Gladio’s cheek gratefully even as he was deposited by Ignis’s feet. While Gladio walked to where Noctis was suspended, the other man put his pistol down and drew a dagger, working to cut Prompto from the web.

“I don’t know.” Was Noctis’s reply, watching them as best he could from above and upside-down. “He disappeared in that demon goo. He could be anywhere.” Meaning, of course, he could still be in there with them, waiting for his moment to strike.

“Iggy.” Gladio called once he was ready, arms open. Again it took three shots before the Prince fell, only making a strangled noise of surprise at the sudden fall.

“Princess.” Gladiolus greeted once he caught Noctis, smirking in response to the eye roll as he brought him back over to Ignis, letting the man cut the Prince out as well.

“Are you both okay? You’re sure?” Ignis asked as Gladiolus walked around the cave, trying to coerce the demon to come out. It didn’t answer, even as he yelled derogatory and challenging things to it.

“Yeah, we’re good.” They both said with a nod, pulling the webs off of their clothes.

“Nothing for it but to leave.” The Shield grumbled as he reappeared behind them, great sword propped back on his shoulder. “Come on, I’ll lead.” He said, beginning to trudge back uphill to fresh air. Ignis took up the rear, keeping an eye behind them as best he could as they went along.

It was only as they emerged back into what had almost become a blizzard that the monster - spider like in appearance, as suspected - materialized from the ground.

“Now we’re talking.” Gladiolus said, grinning as he got read, leading the charge at the demon. Prompto had paused, making sure Noctis wasn’t obviously looking, before grabbing Ignis’s face and kissing it, then darting into battle behind the Prince with a whoop of excitement.

Ignis blushed pleasantly, but carried on easily enough into the battle, first searching for weaknesses. “It dislikes fire!” He called to Noctis, who snorted in reply.

“Great, my thunder will come in handy. Iggy!” The first part was sarcastic, but then he ran to Ignis for a bit of fire to enchant his sword with. When their hands passed over each other’s, Noctis instead grabbed the man’s wrist. “I saw that.” Was all he said before continuing on. It wasn’t threatening or accusing, but it did come as enough of a shock that one of eight giant fuzzy legs managed to knock him down.

By then Noctis was warped onto its back, hacking at it with the fire embedded sword as long as he could before the magic faded, jumping back off. “Noct, gimme your lance!” Prompto called, watching as the sword disappeared and was replaced by a lance. He tossed his gun to the Prince, grabbing the lance and thrusting forward. As soon as he pulled the lance out, three bullets went right into the hole it had left as Prompto came back around to trade back, high fiving Noctis as he did so.

“It’s halfway gone, keep pushing!” Gladiolus called his inspiration to the group, continuing his onward attack of press, press, dodge, press, press, dodge.

Noctis wanted this fight over with. Reaching into the Kings of Lucis, he pulled out his Armiger - his entire ensemble of Royal weapons swirling around him as he pressed a nonstop attack, only dodging when a leg or a pincher came his way. When it was done he fell to the ground, dropping immediately to his knees with a grunt. Taking a deep breath he was up, the whole team pressing in for the final attack until the monster finally dissolved into a pool of black blood.

“Well that was fun.” Gladiolus muttered, letting his greatsword disappear. No one could tell if he was serious or not, and so let the comment alone, Noctis slipping to his knees in the snow for just a second to catch his breath.

“Sure,” Prompto finally managed to respond. “Fun.” That was definite sarcasm, which the Shield only answered with a grin, before his eyes caught on the Prince.

“You all right?” He asked, taking a few steps towards Noctis in the growing blizzard.

Ignis - afraid of what his response might be - glanced momentarily at his watch before looking away once more. Three minutes until Christmas.

“Yeah, just…” Noctis started, settling back on his haunches despite the wet snow seeking purchase in his body heat. “What was that?” The Prince directed the question at Prompto, but Ignis knew precisely what he was asking.

“What was what?” Prompto asked in return, properly confused at to what Noctis was asking about.

“You kissed Specks right before the battle.” He said it so matter-of-factly, that for a long minute, no one knew what to say. Prompto attempted a sentence, but it came out partial noises, so Ignis finally stepped forward with an apology written on his face.

“We were going to tell you tonight. But we’ve become a sort of… thing.” Ignis tried, a little at a loss for words, for perhaps the first time in his life.

“A couple? You and Prom?” He didn’t ask it unkindly, just verifying. Ignis opened his mouth to answer, but this time Gladio stepped forward.

“No. The three of us.”

Silence settled on the group as Noctis looked between them all. First at Gladio, then Prompto, then Ignis. Then back to Prompto, back to Gladiolus, as though waiting for them to deny it or call it a prank or something. When it never came he just shrugged, finally working his way to his feet, cautious of his knee.

“Oh. Cool.” Was all he said, glancing around. “Which way is camp?” He asked, Gladiolus nodding gently in the direction. Noctis turned and started walking, before pausing and turning back to his unmoved comrades. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

Ignis spoke up before either of the other two could let their emotions get to them. “We didn’t want you to miss Luna anymore than you surely do. Didn’t want to rub a budding relationship in your face, so to speak.”

Noctis furrowed his brows, confused for a moment. “Iggy the treaty is dead. My father is dead, Insomnia is destroyed, and the world is falling into darkness and demons.” He said it all as though commenting on the poor weather they were having. “That wedding isn’t happening until the demons are gone, the darkness is stopped, and Insomnia is re-established. Maybe not even then.”

Ignis spoke again to tell him that was unwise to suggest, that the marriage might be just what they needed to end the plague of demons and darkness growing across the world, that so long as Luna was okay and still willing, this marriage needed to happen.

But before he could get out any of the words, Prompto gasped. “Really?! Because we really actually wanted you involved in this too!” Both Gladiolus and Ignis made a lunge, but neither got there in time, instead just taking Prompto down after he’d finished talking.

Noctis froze for a moment, hands clenching by his sides and then relaxing. All three were laying on the ground, staring up at their Prince, a mixtures of emotions on their faces.

“...What?” He finally asked, head tilting curiously.

“We, uh…” Gladiolus started, standing up. None of them could ignore a question from their Prince, even if he didn’t know how to act like one quite yet.

“We all sort of bonded. Over having feelings for you. But you’re off-limits, and then this…” He gestured down to the two on the ground, who were working on getting their feet as well.

“Off-limits?” Now Noctis sounded thoroughly frustrated, shaking his head. Ignis glanced once more at his pocketwatch. Two minutes to go.

“Why do you just arbitrarily decide I’m off-limits without talking to me? Last I checked, one of you advises me, one of you protects me, and one of you keeps me sane!” His voice was louder than usual, but still far from yelling as he took a step closer to them, almost dangerously.

“Okay. Then consider this us.. Talking to you. Perhaps a little late.” Ignis said, brushing snow off himself. “We all three have feelings for you that are, for all intents and purposes, inappropriate for an adviser, a protector, and a best friend to have for their betrothed prince.” Ignis started. “In discovering this and talking, we’ve found room in our hearts not only for our unrequited affection for you, but for each other as well.” He concluded eloquently, adjusting his glasses once more.

Noctis stayed silent, eyes boring into each of theirs as if he could see their thoughts, read into their souls.

“Do you have any input, Highness?” Gladiolus asked, addressing him properly for one of the few times he ever did. It made Noctis’ eyes snap back to his shield, but when met, all Gladio saw was a lost boy. “Oh, hell.” He muttered, reaching forward and grabbing Noctis, pulling him into a hug.

“Come here.” He grumbled, nodding to Ignis and Prompto to join in the little group hug as well. “Then she doesn’t get you.” Gladiolus muttered, leaning down and pressing a kiss into Noctis’s hair. “And we’re happy to claim you as ours.” He said, squeezing the Prince a little hard if his slightly choked noise was anything to go by.

Prompto weaseled his way in, under one of Gladiolus’s massive arms, grabbing Noctis by the front of his jacket and kissing him fervently. Only after pulling back did he grin. “Can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“Right back at you, Prom.” Noctis said, a gentle edge to his tone that he never had before.

“Well.” Ignis tried to be proper, but it didn’t work when the Prince hugged him around the middle. Pressing a kiss into the shaggy black hair, he pat the teen on the back. “Well then. Should we get back? Our tent might still be nearby. We can have Gladiolus fetch it for us. Plus we still have presents - why aren’t either of you wearing shoes?!” Ignis noticed for the first time, eyes wide.

“We kind of got kidnapped before we had a chance to put them on.” Prompto explained, hand in Noctis’s and clearly not intending to let go. Gladiolus moved in front of Noctis, squatting down and letting him jump on his back, Ignis doing the same for Prompto. The teens still didn’t let go of each other, so it only made sense for Gladio and Ignis to hold hands as well to keep them properly close. It didn’t prevent Ignis from glancing at his watch again.

“Oh. Merry Christmas, everyone.” He called to them, right at the stroke of midnight. As if on cue they heard bells above, both men stopping as all four looked to the sky. They couldn’t tell what it was, but something flew overhead, leaving them all standing there smiling for another few minutes.

“I guess this is my favorite Christmas then.” Noctis decided, letting his head rest against Gladio’s neck as he closed his eyes, fingers laced with Prompto’s as the two men carried their boyfriends back to camp.

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